The French and Real Madrid striker has won football’s best accolade, crowning him as the world’s best player in 2022 after a stunning year.
Karim Benzema is a cultural icon in the football world, and no one is doubting that this year he has surpassed any other footballer on the planet. The stats are simply a back up to provide you evidence of this Lion of a footballer. 37 goal contributions in 2022 is a monstrous number to have at this point, but I don’t think the stats tell the story of his wonderful year.
It’s always felt that the striker has been the shadow at Real Madrid, particularly in their glory days. If you have Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo either side of you every game, no matter how good you are, it will not be easy to pull through with high goalscoring numbers every season. While being a fantastic wingman to these two, when they left it was his time to become the main man at the Bernabeu, and his reintroduction into the French national team helped to let everyone know just how good Benzema is.
The media were extremely critical of Real Madrid heading into the last season, with the team beginning to age across the pitch, and without a star-studded player such as Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s fair to mention that the whole of Madrid’s team was fantastic last year, and particularly in their Champions League run the experience and quality of the midfield assisted them, Benzema’s clutch goals in crucial moments, mostly from out of nowhere was what won him his record-breaking 5th Champions League trophy.
In the past, he compared himself to an F1 car, and he truly delivered some Mercedes-Benz performances in the two-legged ties against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City who were all strong contenders, arguably more so than Madrid to win the illustrious trophy. The composure of Benzema in these games were remarkable, and the quality of his goals at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad were remarkable. The extra-time penalty at the Bernabeu to send Madrid to the final was something special, and a total of 9 knockout goals in the competition is unheard of, and already makes you a contender for the Ballon d’or.
Trophies appear to be the key to being named the world’s best footballer, at least when it was between Ronaldo and Messi who were so close in personal statistics last year. Real Madrid won the league, which is always a big achievement over their rivals Barcelona, and also the Spanish Supercup. These three trophies truly the key to his win but being the main man in this team along with his goal contributions made it inevitable.
Being handed the trophy by Zinedine Zidane in Paris felt just right. From one French icon to another, this felt like the passing of the throne, and yet another Frenchman dominating the European stage. Was Zidane, then Henry, now Benzema and who next? It feels that Kylian Mbappe will be lifting the same trophy one day. But 2022 is the year of the Benz, and no one can argue his status as the king currently.
Undoubtedly, Karim Benzema is the current face of football. A French legend, a fashion icon, recognised as a great by everyone. When he retires, he will happily sit at a table with the greats.
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