The top 30 players in the 2022 Ballon d'Or have been revealed as Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema scooped the award.
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Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d'Or award for first time while Putellas won the women's award for a second time.
A panel of international journalists chose the winners. With Barcelona, she won La Liga and reached the Champions League final. Spanish player Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy for the second straight year following another standout season with Barcelona.
We've moved on from the Messi and Ronaldo duopoly but Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to dominate in the individual awards.
[Just ask the Mexicans](https://en.as.com/soccer/how-many-mexican-players-have-been-nominated-for-the-ballon-dor-complete-list-n/). This year there were a number of changes to the process, most notably, the jury of journalists was instructed to take into account players’ performances in the 2021/22 season, rather than the 2022 calendar year. Well, the truth is that we don’t yet know. Fans will always have their own favourites and will find ways to doubt the integrity or intelligence of those voting a different way, especially if choosing a rival player. ](https://en.as.com/soccer/ballon-dor-2022-live-online-today-awards-nominees-winners-and-latest-updates-from-the-ceremony-n/)The sight of sweaty athletes showing their prowess on a muddy field was swapped for a red carpet filled with those same individuals wearing expensive suits, glamorous dresses and big smiles. And the supporting cast of families, friends, club officials and sporting executives took their own places as we gathered for the crowning of the best players in the world.
France Football's award for the best men's player during the 2021/22 season, the Ballon d'Or, was presented to Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema ...
Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United) Fabinho (Liverpool) (Real Madrid) Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) France Football’s award for the best men’s player during the 2021/22 season, the Ballon d’Or, was presented to Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema yesterday evening during a prize-giving ceremony in Paris. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema may have only just picked up the 2022 Ballon d'Or but the fight to be named the world's best footballer in 2023 has already begun.
Indeed, the game's best players are already staking early claims to win next year's vote. Who, then, has put themselves in the frame with their performances in the early part of the season, and who has some catching up to do? Ready to do it all again?
When the France striker was 15, he had his sights set on football's most prestigious prize. At 34, he's finally claimed an elusive Ballon d'Or.
Eighteen years on, all the dreams have now been fulfilled. Did he party after being crowned the best player in the world? At 34 (he turns 35 at the end of December), he is the oldest Ballon d'Or winner since Stanley Matthews in 1956, a legend of a bygone era. The Ballon d'Or given to Karim the Dream (as he is called) marks a reward for a long career in which he's played a different style of football, one with flair, awareness, creativity and brains. [Karim Benzema](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/player/_/id/46858/Karim-Benzema)'s beautiful mansion in Ciudalcampo, an exclusive community on the outskirts of Madrid, there has been a space reserved for the Ballon d'Or trophy in his trophy cabinet. "Karim is football," said Carlo Ancelotti on Monday night.