Why Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema is the rightful winner of this year's Ballon d'Or?

Karim Benzema has gone on to make himself a cult figure among the Real Madrid fans, thanks to some amazing performances after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite scoring tons of goals one season after the other, the Real Madrid striker found it hard to surpass Ronaldo and Lionel Messi from the top when it comes to winning Ballon d'or. However, the time has finally arrived when fans can move over Ronaldo and Messi's dominance and witness the golden ball being passed over to a new hand.

Why Karim Benzema is the front-runner for Ballon d'Or 2022

Benzema signed for Real Madrid back in 2009 but spent the majority of his time playing under Ronaldo's shadow. However, in the last year or so, the prolific striker has enjoyed one of the most stunning seasons of his career so far. Talking about the 2021-22 season, Benzema found the back of the net 44 times in 46 games and helped Real Madrid win both La Liga and the Champions League. 

In the last season of the Champions League, Benzema single-handedly dragged Real Madrid into the final after some stunning performances in the latter stages of the tournament. The Benzema magic started in the last 16 matches against Paris Saint Germain. The Spanish Giants were down 0-2 on aggregate and needed the inspiration to avoid crashing out of the tournament. Benzema stepped up and scored a hat-trick to knock out the French champions. He also became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League. 

The hat-trick also helped him overtake the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano as the club’s third-highest all-time goal scorer. After dragging Real Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals, Benzema stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge scoring a hat-trick to help his team take a 3-1 lead. In the second leg, the 34-year-old scored the tie’s winner in extra time to put them through to the last four 5-4 on aggregate.

After such a stunning performance against Chelsea and PSG, there was no looking back for Benzema as he scored three more goals across both legs to help Real Madrid register a 6-5 aggregate win over Manchester City. Despite failing to find the back of the net against Liverpool, Benzema won his fifth Champions League title after Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris. He also finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 15 goals and was voted the Champions League Player of the Year.

Players who can challenge Karim Benzema for Ballon d'Or 2022 title

The 2022 season saw Benzema overtaking Real Madrid legend Raul as Real Madrid's second-all-time top goalscorer. He achieved the feat during his side's UEFA Super Cup triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt. Apart from goal-scoring exploits the contender for Ballon d'Or also needs to win domestic silverware to stand a chance of lifting the trophy. Benzema won the Supercopa, La Liga, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. Even though Benzema is the favourite, he would still be challenged by some of the other top players from other leagues. 

Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski's numbers looked great but the lack of silverware weakens each player's case significantly. After a great start to the season, Mohamed Salah saw his pace dropped down in the second half of the season. Bayern Munich striker Sadio Mane could be Benzema's threat to the trophy but, Liverpool's failure to lift either the Premier League or the Champions League means the veteran french forward is on his way to claiming his maiden Ballon d'Or title.