French Karim Benzema is the winner of the 2022 Golden Ball. The Real Madrid player has had a phenomenal season, which earned him this award in Paris on Monday 17 October. Just behind KB9, another player and not the least, the Senegalese Sadio Mané occupies the 2nd place of the ranking and becomes after the Liberian George Weah, the first African to reach this level of the podium. Nevertheless, Sadio Mané did not leave empty-handed. The child from Bambali won the first Socrates Prize in the history for his numerous social actions in his country.
Karim Benzema, author of an exceptional season at 34
Whether in Liga, which Real Madrid won thanks to his 27 goals (top scorer) and 12 assists (second best passer, behind Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé), or in the Champions League, where he scored 15 goals, including 10 in the knockout phase – something only Cristiano Ronaldo had achieved in the 2016-2017 season. Almost single-handedly, he turned the Merengues’ season around. “It’s a good thing they’ve already written his name on the next Golden Ball,” enthused Rio Ferdinand after his hat-trick against Chelsea (3-1, 2-3) in the quarter-finals, his second in 16 minutes against PSG (0-1, 3-1) in the previous round.
His brace, and especially his phenomenal performance in the semi-final first leg against Manchester City (4-3), gave even more weight to his candidacy for the supreme distinction. On his return, he wore his hero suit in the Bernabeu, leaving Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens in disbelief. After a crazy scenario, he completed another Madrid comeback (3-1, a.p.) by giving his team the qualification.
Sadio Mané 2nd, wins the first Socrates Award
With 33 goals and 5 assists, his victory at the African Cup of Nations (as best player and with the decisive penalty kick in the final), his penalty kick that qualified Senegal for the World Cup, his triumphs in the two English cups, his place as finalist in the Champions League and his 2nd place in the First League, the former Generation Foot resident is logically rewarded and beats his record of 2019 (4th). Earlier, Sadio Mané, the two-time African Footballer of the Year, won the first ever Socrates Award for his social work in Senegal.
Beyond Senegal, it is a pride for all of Africa since the Lion is the first player of the continent to finish 2nd and only the second since Liberian George Weah, crowned in 1995, to taste the podium!
The 2022 edition of the Golden Ball, awarded by France Football, is very specific and is based this year, for the first time, on the performances of the past season and not on the calendar year. A jury of journalists from 100 countries (the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings) conducted the voting. The four African players in the competition performed superbly, all finishing in the top 15: Mohamed Salah equalled his best ranking (5th), Riyad Mahrez came in a fine 12th and Sebastien Haller, nominated for the first time, made a memorable breakthrough to 13th place.
The Golden Ball 2022 ranking :
1. Karim Benzema (FRA, 34 ans; Real Madrid)
2. Sadio Mané (SEN, 30 ans; Liverpool/Bayern Munich)
3. Kevin De Bruyne (BEL, 31 ans; Manchester City)
4. Robert Lewandowski (POL, 33 ans ; Bayern Munich/FC Barcelone)
5. Mohamed Salah (EGY, 30 ans ; Liverpool)
6. Kylian Mbappé (FRA, 23 ans ; Paris-SG)
7. Thibaut Courtois (BEL, 30 ans ; Real Madrid)
8. Vinicius Jr (BRÉ, 22 ans ; Real Madrid)
9. Luka Modric (CRO, 36 ans ; Real Madrid)
10. Erling Haaland (NOR, 22 ans ; Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City)
11. Heung-min Son (CDS, 30 ans ; Tottenham)
12. Riyad Mahrez (ALG, 31 ans ; Manchester City)
13. Sébastien Haller (CIV, 28 ans ; Ajax Amsterdam / Borussia Dortmund)
14. Rafael Leao (POR, 23 ans ; AC Milan)
14. Fabinho (BRE, 28 ans ; Liverpool)
16. Virgil van Dijk (HOL, 31 ans ; Liverpool)
17. Casemiro (BRE, 30 ans ; Real Madrid/Manchester United)
17. Dusan Vlahovic (SER, 22 ans ; Fiorentina/Juventus Turin)
17. Luis Diaz (COL, 25 ans ; Porto/Liverpool)
20. Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, 37 ans ; Juventus/Manchester United)
21. Harry Kane (ANG, 29 ans ; Tottenham)
22. Bernardo Silva (POR, 28 ans ; Manchester City)
22. Trent Alexander-Arnold (ANG, 23 ans ; Liverpool)
22. Phil Foden (ANG, 22 ans ; Manchester City)
25. Darwin Nunez (URU, 23 ans ; Benfica/Liverpool)
25. Christopher Nkunku (FRA, 24 ans ; RB Leipzig)
25. Joao Cancelo (POR, 28 ans ; Manchester City)
25. Antonio Rüdiger (ALL, 29 ans ; Chelsea/Real Madrid)
25. Mike Maignan (FRA, 27 ans ; AC Milan)
25. Joshua Kimmich (ALL, 27 ans ; Bayern Munich)
