Karim Benzema is the overwhelming favorite to win the men's Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, becoming the first Frenchman to do so since Zinedine Zidane nearly a quarter-century ago.
There are 30 nominees, but the Real Madrid striker is the standout candidate after his outstanding performances helped his club win the Champions League and La Liga last season.
Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games for his club, 15 of which came in the Champions League.His exploits included a hat-trick in 17 second-half minutes against PSG in the last 16, and another away to Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals. In addition, he scored three goals in both legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.
Benzema was named UEFA Player of the Year in August, and he is enjoying a fantastic twilight to his career with the World Cup on the horizon.
Robert Lewandowski, a 'true' sportsman, believes Real Madrid's Karim Benzema will win the Ballon d'Or.Formerly a pariah who was barred from playing for France for five and a half years due to his involvement in a blackmail scandal involving teammate Mathieu Valbuena, Benzema has moved on and is playing the best football of his career as his 35th birthday approaches the day after the World Cup final.
"What matters most to me is winning collective trophies. Individual awards will follow if you perform well on the field "Benzema recently stated.
His victory at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris appears to be a foregone conclusion."If they don't cancel it, he'll probably win the Ballon d'Or," Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said this week.
That was a joke by the Pole, who would have undoubtedly been crowned in 2020 if the award had not been canceled due to the pandemic.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be in attendance at the Ballon d'Or ceremony for the first time since 2017.
Messi is not present.Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time last year, but he isn't even nominated this time after a disappointing season at Paris Saint-Germain.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated, but there is no mention of Neymar.
Aside from Benzema, there are four other members of Real's Champions League-winning squad: Vinicius, the evergreen Luka Modric, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and Casemiro, who is now with Manchester United.
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