Karim Mustafa Benzema, the current captain of the French national soccer team, celebrated a magnificent season last year with 44 goals and 15 assists out of his 46 appearances for Real Madrid in all sorts of competitions, which helped his club to clinch the UEFA Champions League and the La Liga title.

Last night, in appreciation of his outstanding performance, the Real Madrid captain earned the Ballon d’Or 2022 for the first time in his career at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris, France, an annual award given to the best footballer every year.

KARIM BENZEMA IS THE 2022 BALLON D’OR! ✨@Benzema @realmadrid #ballondor pic.twitter.com/TXLkHJIhJM

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 17, 2022

Messi and Ronaldo, the two best soccer players right now, have won most of the Ballon d’Or awards. As per records, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded 14 times since 2008, with Messi winning the award 7 times and Ronaldo taking home the trophy 5 times. But this year, Lionel Messi was not even nominated and invited to the gala event of the award ceremony, while Christiano ended up in the 20th rank of the Men’s Ballon d’Or list.

📈 Karim Benzema's ranking through the years#ballondor pic.twitter.com/SjEHd9dQRP

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 17, 2022

After Luka Modric in 2018, King Benzema is the man who outplayed Messi and Rolando. But this success wasn’t achieved overnight. There was a time when fans were outrageously disappointed at Benzi’s performance. However, with hard work and dedication, the French captain came up from that level of hell and is now considered Real Madrid’s main man.

💬 Karim Benzema : « Happy to be here, it's my first time. Hope to have a great news tonight ! »#ballondor pic.twitter.com/9nhkZCWJai

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 17, 2022

While remembering those days, the 34-year-old French player stated on the stage after receiving the:

“There was a difficult period where I wasn’t in the French team but I never stopped working hard or gave up. Really proud of my journey here. It wasn’t easy, it was difficult. To be here today for the first time, I am happy, pleased for my work, and want to keep going.”

Prior to the announcement, fans were confident that Benzema would win the Ballon d’Or this year. Everyone is happy for him, not only fans but also Benzema’s former teammate, one of the finest midfielders, Mesut Ozil, who tweeted even before winning the award:

“My boy Benzi – the best player in the world 💯👑🤍😍

I’ve always said you will win this trophy and you deserve it so much 🔥 Proud of you my brother 🤲🏼❤️ #inshAllah #BallonDOr”

My boy Benzi – the best
player in the world 💯👑🤍😍
I've always said you will win this trophy and you deserve it so much 🔥 Proud of you my brother 🤲🏼❤️ #inshAllah #BallonDOr pic.twitter.com/k0BNUqYIsP

— Mesut Özil (@M10) October 17, 2022

This year Ballon d’Or, Thibaut Courtois won the Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper, Robert Lewandowski secured the Gerd Muller prize while Barca Sensation Gavi won the Kopa Award and Manchester City won the club of the year trophy.