Karim Benzema has been a leading light for Real Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Juventus in 2018, but his dream of winning the Ballon d’Or will not come to fruition this year.
Many believed that this was his year to win the accolade, with former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane voicing his opinion recently.
“Karim Benzema deserves the Ballon d’Or, simply because right now he is ahead of the rest,” Zidane said in an interview with Telefoot.
The Ronaldo and Messi era
Despite winning a host of trophies for Real Madrid and putting in decisive performances year in, year out, the fact that his career has coincided with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi makes it understandable to see why he is yet to win a Ballon d’Or.
Fans of Real Madrid know all too well just how much talent Benzema has and how important he is to their club, however he is yet to receive the recognition that is carried by being awarded the title of best footballer in Europe.
His best form for Real Madrid
This calendar year has seen Benzema feature in 46 games, in which he has scored 30 goals and provided nine assists for Real Madrid.
His club form saw him reinstated for the French national team, where his understanding with Kylian Mbappe has gotten fans dreaming of seeing them together for Real Madrid.
It is this form that led Zidane to suggest that Benzema should win the Ballon d’Or, as the former Real Madrid boss joined the likes of Luis Figo, Didier Deschamps and Hugo Lloris in saying that the striker deserves to take home the award.
Another award for Messi
While Benzema looks set to miss out, Messi is on course to win his seventh Ballon d’Or.
It has been a turbulent few months for Messi, who departed Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain over the summer, but it looks that his efforts in guiding Argentina to the Copa America trophy in July 2021 has sealed him the award.
With the outcome almost confirmed, Benzema will be wondering what more he can do to win the Ballon d’Or. Of course, his mind will remain focused on winning more trophies with Real Madrid and making up for lost time for France, so perhaps the recognition will come in 2022.
