Real Madrid superstar, Karim Benzema is reportedly set to be named the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner with Spanish’s LaLiga expected to dominate tonight’s Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
Paris will host the ceremony and according to Marca, three Spanish-based players will bag the top three awards of the night.
Benzema is to be crowned Ballon d’Or winner for the first time in his career, while Real Madrid team-mate Thibaut Courtois is set to win the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper and Barcelona’s Gavi will win the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in the world.
The Real Madrid skipper netted 27 goals last season and was top scorer in the Champions League with 15, as he led the Spanish giants to both a LaLiga title victory and upset Liverpool to clinch their 14th European Cup crown.
A win for Benzema, alongside Mane and Lewandowski, will mark the first time neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have appeared in the top three since 2006.
The last Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d’Or winner was Luka Modric in 2018, and Benzema will become the eighth different Madrid star to collect the award.
Benzema’s Real team-mate Thibaut Courtois will scoop the Yashin award to add to his Golden Gloves gong at the 2018 World Cup.
The Belgian was nominated alongside Alisson Becker, Ederson, Mike Maignan, Yassine Bounou ‘Bono’, Edouard Mendy, Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak, Kevin Trapp, and Hugo Lloris.
