Karim Benzema is a little more back in the history of football this Monday evening. The Frenchman won the 66th edition of the Ballon d’Or France Football ahead of Sadio Mané (Bayern Munich), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) and Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona). The Real Madrid striker has concluded a truly fantastic year in the best possible way. In addition to this individual trophy, the Habs carried the Merengues at arm’s length and led them to the Champions League title last season. A justified reward according to all observers who salute an extraordinary player despite his age. The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, welcomed for her part “An incredible journey with exceptional talent, a lot of hard work and a lot of resilience. »
Noël Le Graët also spoke after the victory of his compatriot at the Théâtre du Châtelet. “I am really very happy for Karim, who fully deserves this Ballon d’Or. This distinction rewards his wonderful season but above all celebrates the talent of one of the greatest strikers in the world and in the history of French football, alongside Kopa, Platini, Papin and Zidane. Karim is an extraordinary striker, who can make the difference at any time with his pure talent, a gesture, an inspiration, but he is also a player at the service of the collective, who knows how to step aside to score. He has continued to progress during his career and it is another of his merits to be today an indisputable leader. confided the president of the FFF.
A Ballon d’Or on merit
For his part, the president of Olympique Lyonnais, Jean-Michel Aulas, returned to the career of the child of the club by expressing all the pride he feels for his former striker with the conclusion of the famous reward that he received in front of an impressive audience of football-related personalities. “It’s an immense pride with a lot of emotion because Karim is a child of OL. He is a child that we have seen grow up and that we have seen flourish. We have seen him succeed in almost everything he has undertaken. And then it’s for us, who not only hired him since his first contracts he signed with us. It’s a pride” commented the strong man of the Rhone club.
Many former high-level players, including legends of football, also took to their social networks to welcome a beautiful and just reward for the 34-year-old player. We can notably mention Iker Casillas who welcomed the coronation of his former teammate at Real Madrid. “Among the few things I agree with France Football on: the winner had to be (Karim) Benzema! Congratulations “ wrote on his twitter account the historic doorman of Casa Bianca. For his part, Michael Owen, Ballon d’Or in 2001, recalled that the Frenchman was out of competition this year: “Congratulations to (Karim) Benzema. The absolute standout candidate this year. Well-deserved. » Sober and efficient.
Kaka, another winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2007, also wanted to congratulate the “Nueve”, as did his compatriot Kylian Mbappé, who ranked 6th in this edition, or Olivier Giroud on his Instagram account. The same goes for Juninho, who played with Karim Benzema at OL between 2005 and 2009. “For me it’s deserved, he worked for it. The time has come in his career to receive this award that very few players have received in the history of football and I am happy. He really is a complete striker and as I say: Well done Karim, you really deserve it” commented the former Lyonnais at Progress. Unanimous reactions which confirm the new status of the native of Lyon, now on the roof of world football.
