Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or by 356 votes from runner-up Sadio Mane, which is the second biggest triumph in the award’s history, it has been revealed.
Benzema received 549 votes for his remarkable 2021-22 campaign, which included leading Real Madrid to the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double.
He was the top goalscorer in La Liga last season with 27 goals from 32 appearances and registered a goal or an assist every 89 minutes in the Champions League, including hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea.
The voting format at the Ballon d’Or saw 100 journalists from FIFA’s top 100 nations select top five from the 30-man shortlist.
The players on each jury member’s list were given points, as follows:
First: Six points
Second: Four points
Third: Three points
Fourth: Two points
Fifth: One point
Mane was awarded 193 votes for his success with Senegal and Liverpool last campaign. He scored the winning spot kick in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations against Egypt, and did so also in the play-off to secure qualification for the World Cup, which begins on November 20.
He also played a major role in Liverpool’s near-historic quadruple where the club won the League Cup, FA Cup and just missed out on the Premier League and Champions League titles.
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Kevin De Bruyne pipped Robert Lewandowski by five votes to take third, while Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was fifth.
Several players received no votes at all, most notably, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Manchester United attacker failed to finish in the top three for the first time since 2005.
England stars Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Foden also failed to get any vote from the journalists.
BALLON D’OR 2022 VOTING – TOP 10
Karim Benzema- 549 votes
Sadio Mane- 193 votes
Kevin De Bruyne- 175 votes
Robert Lewandowski: 170 votes
Mo Salah: 116 votes
Kylian Mbappe: 85 votes
Thibaut Courtois: 82 votes
Vinicius Junior: 61 votes
Luka Modric: 20 votes
Erling Haaland: 18 votes
