Zinedine Zidane backs ‘simply exceptional’ Karim Benzema to decide up Ballon d’Or just after Real Madrid heroics

Zinedine Zidane has claimed it is a formality that “small brother” Karim Benzema wins the Ballon d’Or this 12 months.

Benzema arguably had his greatest season for Los Blancos in 2021-22, selecting up one more Liga title plus the Champions League for a fifth time.

The French striker was pivotal in their operate to the Champions League trophy by scoring 15 ambitions in the level of competition.

His European strikes arrived towards some of the very best teams in the environment like Manchester City, PSG and Chelsea, while he also came up with 27 aims and 12 helps in 32 Liga games.

Benzema received the Champions League a few years in a row from 2016-2018 when Zidane was manager in Madrid, with his previous manager declaring there is no other contender for the Ballon d’Or.

“He has constantly been quite fantastic at Madrid. He is simply fantastic. Will he get the Ballon d’Or this yr? Best prize? Not only do I consider that, but the entire entire world claims it.”

Cristiano Ronaldo famously left Actual Madrid in 2018, opting to join Juventus in Serie A. This was the turning place for Benzema as he was quickly the focal stage of the Madrid assault.

The next time, Benzema scored 21 ambitions and delivered six helps in La Liga – in contrast, he only managed five plans in the league the prior 12 months when Ronaldo was nonetheless in the Spanish capital.

Zidane emphasised how a lot Benzema’s experience has served him to become one particular of the ideal players in the entire world and a frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or.

He mentioned: “Everything he does is intelligent, and it looks basic. When I see him perform, I feel I could do the exact! We know all that he does is extraordinary, and he utilizes always the right floor to be the most productive.

“He slows down to accelerate, he accelerates and slows down. He smells the rhythm of the match like no one else, and it is a little something fascinating we see across Europe now is the oldest strikers are the most efficient.

“[Robert] Lewandowski, Benzema, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, all these players score goals at 40 or 35. The very best strikers in Europe are all in excess of 30-yrs-previous simply because they use every error of the opponent.

“I would say Benzema right up until 30, I think he experienced two or 3 kilos far too several. Now he’s a genuine athlete, and which is why these days definitely he is just one of the two or three greatest strikers in the environment.”

The Ballon d’Or will be introduced in Oct.