One dazzled Spain, the other conquered Africa: the French goleador of Real Madrid Karim Benzema and the Senegalese striker of Liverpool Sadio Mané face each other on Saturday (9 p.m.) in the Champions League final, for a duel in the form of the last step towards the Ballon d’Or.
It’s hard to imagine football’s most prestigious individual award, which will be handed out on October 17, escaping the Madrid centre-forward who, at 34, has just had the best season of his career. With 44 goals and 15 assists in 45 club matches this season, Benzema took his team to a 35th La Liga title at the end of April, before a possible “decimocuarta” (14th) unexpected in C1. “He’s one of the best players in the world, probably the best centre-forward in the world and possibly the most underrated player in history”, assured UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, in an interview with AFP. In the event of a double at Saint-Denis, the former Lyonnais could even equal the record for goals in a C1 campaign of his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (17 in 2013-2014). “Records are made to be broken”smiled the French striker in an interview on the UEFA website.
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Benzema, “l’excellence”
“It’s excellence, it’s Karim, of course. (…) Me, I’m all for it being a French player (who has it, editor’s note). Because of what he does with his club throughout the year, and with us also in the France team, yes, he deserves it”, assured the French coach Didier Deschamps in an interview with beIN Sports on Sunday. A triumph on Saturday would kill all suspense: barring a twist, Benzema would become the first Frenchman to be crowned Ballon d’Or since his former coach Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
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On the ground as in the votes, stands in front of him the ultimate barrier which separates him from the trophy: Sadio Mané, in the running to become the second African to win the Ballon d’Or after the Liberian George Weah in 1995. “It’s sad that no other African player has won it since Weah”did he declare. “We are going to make everything win the Champions League, and then we will see what happens with the Ballon d’Or.” For the Ballon d’Or, “You have to be either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo or have won the Champions League. Winning on Saturday will increase your chances”, assured his coach Jürgen Klopp. If he scores less (23 goals in all competitions), the 30-year-old striker is the spearhead of a team that has won almost everything. With the Champions League, Liverpool would complete a nice treble, in addition to the FA Cup and the League Cup, which would console them for the Premier League which escaped them for a single point, in favor of Manchester City.
In the jersey of Senegal, in two different matches, he scored the shot on goal which offered the country its first African Cup of Nations at the beginning of February, then the one which sent it to the World Cup-2022 at the end of March. Both times it was against team-mate Mohamed Salah’s Egypt.
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Mané, “a machine”
“He’s in the form of his life. It’s a pleasure to watch him play“, praised Klopp. Despite this, after six years, his future on the banks of the Mersey is most uncertain. The shadow of Salah, who also wonders about his future, makes you want to go elsewhere Senegalese With a year of contract to honor and 30 years since April 10, the interest shown by Bayern Munich or Paris SG cannot leave him indifferent if he wants to grant himself a last challenge accompanied by a big contract.According to several media, on Friday, the Bavarian club would be on pole to welcome him. “I will answer after the Champions League. Whether I leave or stay, I will answer after”, he slipped into a smile at the microphone of Sky Sports, Wednesday. For Klopp, “He will be an important player wherever he plays next season”.
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