UEFA. Benzema player of the year, a highway to the Ballon d’Or? Not necessarily… . Sport

It is difficult to see how, this year, the Ballon d’Or could escape Karim Benzema. According to Lionel Messi himselfdefending champion, the reward must go to the French international. I think there is no doubt that Benzema had a spectacular year and ended up winning the Champions League, being fundamental from the round of 16 in every game.

But the previous Andrès Iniesta or Franck Ribéry, who had achieved exceptional seasons in 2012 and 2013, without receiving the prestigious trophy at the end of the season, urged observers to be cautious.

Van Dijk, Ribery, Iniesta…

The Real Madrid striker has been voted best player of the 2021-2022 season Tuesday, like his compatriot and the former FC Barcelona player before him, rewarding his high-flying performances from the knockout phase of the Champions League. If we go back 15 years, we realize that receiving the title does not in any way guarantee winning the Ballon d’Or at the end of the season. Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Jorginho, UEFA player of the year 2021, European champion with Chelsea and Euro winner with Italy, knows something about it: he finished only third in the standings, behind Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi, crowned.

Since 2008, the only person to be voted UEFA Player of the Year and win the Ballon d’Or in the same year is Croatian Luka Modric, in 2018, apart from Messi and Ronaldo. Van Dijk (Liverpool, 2019), Ribéry (Bayern Munich, 2013), Iniesta (FC Barcelona, ​​2012) and Diego Milito* (Inter Milan, 2010) have all been named UEFA Player of the Year, without winning the Ballon d’ But then.

New rules for the Ballon d’Or

But unlike Karim Benzema, they faced two monsters of world football, Messi and Ronaldo, who have won all the awards between 2008 and today, except 2018. This year, neither of them seems able to challenge the Frenchman for the Ballon d’Or. Second point: since its creation in 1956, the trophy was awarded at the end of the calendar year, which obliged voters to judge the players over two half-seasons. From this year, it will be awarded over the period August 2021 July 2022, from the start of the championships to the end of major international competitions.

The criteria to be used have also been slightly modified: from now on, voters will have to focus on the individual performances and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders, the collective performances and the prize list accumulated during the season, the class of the player and his sense of fair play. Benzema ticks all the boxes…

*Until 2010, the UEFA Club Player of the Year was awarded

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