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The night Benzema finally got his prize.

On 17 October 2022, Karim Benzema collected the Ballon d’Or in Paris after a brilliant 2021/22 season. He was 34, and nobody could say he hadn’t earned it. Zinedine Zidane handed him the trophy.

Most strikers slow down at that age. Benzema did the opposite. He scored a career-high 27 league goals and 44 in all competitions, in 46 games.

A Champions League run for the ages.

Europe is where he made his case. He scored hat-tricks against Chelsea and PSG and finished as the competition’s top scorer with 15 goals. Madrid came back from the brink against Chelsea, PSG and Manchester City, then beat Liverpool in the final. He also won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup that season

He finished ahead of Sadio Mané, Kevin De Bruyne and Robert Lewandowski in a vote by 180 journalists.

Why it felt like the People’s Ballon d’Or.

For years, the award belonged to two men. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated it, and Luka Modrić was the only other winner between 2007 and Benzema’s win. Benzema waited quietly, did his job, and let his football speak. When he finally won, he called it the Ballon d’Or of the people. The name stuck, and it fit.

Remember the photo at the top of this page: Benzema smiling down at the trophy. It shows a man who waited a long time and enjoyed every second.

One more link to 2026

Here’s a detail that connects the past to this year. Benzema was the oldest winner since Stanley Matthews in 1956. This year’s ceremony moves from Paris to London to mark the 70th anniversary of the first award, which Matthews won. It takes place on Monday, 26 October.

Who can win it now?

The race looks open. According to Al Jazeera, defending champion Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal head the shortlist, and Dembélé is chasing the award after a second straight Champions League title with PSG. PSG alone has ten players on the list. Messi, now 39 with a record eight awards, is on it too.

One thing stands out. Benzema, Ronaldo and Modrić, the other active winners, did not make the list. A new generation is chasing the trophy now.

What Benzema’s win still teaches us

A great season at the biggest moments can beat reputation and hype. That is the standard this year’s contenders must meet.

Nine days from now, we’ll see who meets it. Who do you think wins in London? Tell us in the comments.

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Image source: 5iftyZero.