Karim Benzema: 10 Incredible Achievements That Prove Real Madrid Attacker Deserved His Ballon d’Or Victory

• Karim Benzema won the 2022 edition of the Ballon d'Or after an incredible season with Real Madrid
• The talismanic striker achieved many milestones in the 2021/22 season, which led to his Ballon d'Or victory
• Benzema finished as La Liga's top scorer and also ended the season as the UEFA Champions League top scorer

Karim Benzema is the best men’s player in the world, and rightly so.

The Real Madrid striker won the coveted Ballon d’Or award in France last night (October 17), and it’s easy to see why.

Sports Brief looks at ten reasons why the French attacker was crowned the best player after a stellar 2021/22 season.

A goal contribution every hour

Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions for Madrid last season. He also notched up 15 assists for the side. More impressively, he averaged a direct goal contribution every 66.42 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo set to grace Ballon d'Or ceremony for the first time since 2017

Football

More goal contributions than Lewandowski

Benzema registered 59 direct goal contributions last season, more than Robert Lewandowski (57), Mohamed Salah (47), Erling Haaland (37) and Ciro Immobile (36).

La Liga’s top scorer

The French striker topped the La Liga goal-scoring charts last season. He finished nine goals ahead of Iago Aspas. He was also second on the assist charts, finishing behind Ousmane Dembele.

15 goals in the UCL

Benzema scored 15 goals in last season’s UEFA Champions League competition. This is the third highest in any season of the tournament's history, Planet Football reported.

Scored more than 23 teams

Benzema’s 15 goals in last season’s Champions League is more than 23 other teams that qualified for this season's tournament. He’s beaten the likes of Juventus, Manchester United, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund.

Who is the player with the most top scorer awards in football history?

Football

Tied with Cristiano Ronaldo

The striker netted ten times in the knockout stages of the Champions League, a stat that is the joint-highest total by a player in the tournament’s history. He shares the feat with Cristiano Ronaldo, who achieved it in 2016-17.

Double trophy delight

Benzema not only finished as La Liga’s top scorer but also as the Champions League’s top scorer last season. He is only the fourth person to achieve the feat.

Joins Morientes, Neymar and Dzeko

The Real Madrid star scored in both legs of the quarter-finals and semi-finals of last season’s Champions League. In doing so, he joined Fernando Morientes, Neymar and Edin Dzeko as the only players to manage the achievement in a single season.

Hat-tricks galore

Benzema scored consecutive hat-tricks during last season’s tournament and became only the second person to do so. The first person was Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored against Bayern Munich and then Atletico Madrid in 2017.

'True' sportsman Robert Lewandowski backs Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema to win Ballon d’Or

Football

Scores for club and country

As impressive as Benzema was for Madrid, he also impressed while playing for the French national team. He scored six goals, registered ten assists for France, and even scored the equaliser against Spain in the UEFA Nations League final. France went on to win that final.

Karim Benzema wins Ballon d'Or

Karim Benzema clinched the 2022 edition of the Ballon d'Or on the back of a sterling campaign with Real Madrid, culminating in Champions League success.

Benzema, who was the overwhelming favourite ahead of the awards ceremony, beat competition from Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane and Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona to annex the prestigious diadem.

Sports Brief reported that the Real Madrid frontman scored an outstanding 44 goals in 46 games for Los Blancos, including 15 in the UEFA Champions League.