Ligas and Champions Leagues, he has a shovel. Of course, Karim Benzema will do everything to lift the cup with big ears on Saturday evening, especially when you know the character of the guy, not necessarily focused on the glitter or the individual side and very focused on the collective. But there is no doubt that deep inside him, he necessarily thinks a little regarding this Ballon d’Or, which, more than ever, is reaching out to him. All of Madrid is pushing for him to be sacred, even in the event of defeat by the Merengues, he who has been the idol of the Bernabéu since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
There is no better player in the world than him right now, many of the Madrid fans think we can talk to every day. Even players or fans of other teams, like Luis Suarez, agree that he deserves it. “The Ballon d’Or for Benzema? For this season, yes”, thus launched the Uruguayan striker, who had nevertheless evolved so far with the rival Colchonero and who is a legend of the Barcelona enemy. His team-mate Vinicius Jr declared, during the media day of Real Madrid, that “His time to win the Ballon d’Or has come”. A sort of national unanimity which is also explained because in Barcelona, in the absence of Messi, there is currently no other serious candidate.
No real rival
In the rest of the Old Continent, we think of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané who, in the event of a good performance during this clash at the top, might also have their say. But the two men did not win their championship, and their statistical record is lower than that of the Frenchman, which remains logical given their different position on the ground. One thing is certain, the performances of the Senegalese and the Egyptian are also worthy of a potential Ballon d’Or, and a coronation of Benzema would not be a victory at all by default. The name of Kylian Mbappé is also often mentioned, but the rather bad European course of the Parisians deprives him of a great chance of winning.
From the top of his 44 goals with Madrid this season, Benzema has the opportunity to add the icing on the cake of a monstrous European career, with 15 achievements on the continental scene already. In the event of a goal in this final, he would become the second best scorer in the history of the club alone, he who is tied with Raul Gonzalez and their 323 achievements. The Lyonnais would also be the first winner of the new formula of the Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded on October 17. The 90 minutes of the final at the Stade de France should give us great indications of the name of the winner…
