Robert Lewandowski is the favorite, Erling Haaland is the outsider – but Karim Benzema is also hoping to be honored with the Ballon d’Or.
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Robert Lewandowski is the favorite, Erling Haaland outsider – hope to be honored with the Ballon d’Or for the best footballer of the calendar year, but another attacker makes himself. For Karim Benzema, striker of Real Madrid, the award would be the trade magazine France Football the fulfillment of a “childhood dream”, the Frenchman told the sports newspaper AS.
“It’s always a pleasure to be on the top 30 list,” said Benzema. He will have the victory at Ballon d’Or in the back of his head in big games. At almost 34 years of age, Benzema is still one of the exceptional strikers in the top European leagues. “Modern football allows” many attackers from beyond of the 30 still performing at their best, he said.
Benzema contributed a goal to the 3-2 semi-final victory over Belgium in the Nations League, and has already scored nine goals in eight games for Madrid this season. However, the competition for the Ballon d’Or is fierce. In addition to Lewandowski and Haaland, record winners Lionel Messi (6) and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (5) once again have a chance of winning the award.
In addition, five Italian European champions, including the central defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, are among the candidates for the golden ball, which will be awarded in Paris on November 29th. German players are not on the list of the 30 chosen ones. National goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and young national player Jamal Musiala (both Munich) can hope for an award at least in the categories for the best goalkeeper and the best young player.
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