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Featured Image Credit: Alamy/France Football
Topics: Football, Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
Nasir Jabbar
Topics: Football, Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
Only FOUR journalists didn't vote Karim Benzema first for the 2022 Ballon d'Or rankings, with two of the four journalists voting for Mohamed Salah.
Benzema picked up a whopping 549 points to claim the first Ballon d'Or award of his legendary career.
That's over 300 more points than second-placed Sadio Mane who earned 193 points.
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While it was a landslide victory for the Real Madrid superstar, it has been revealed that FOUR journalists voted against him.
Journalists from Egypt, the Netherlands, Senegal and Slovenia opted against voting Benzema first for the Ballon d'Or.
Egypt, naturally, voted Salah as first ahead of Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Mane and Kylian Mbappe.
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The Netherlands also voted for Salah as first, again, ahead of Benzema as well as Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Lewandowski.
As for Senegal, unsurprisingly, they voted for Sadio Mane as first ahead of Benzema, De Bruyne, Lewandowski and Mbappe.
Slovenia voted for De Bruyne as first ahead of Lewandowski, Benzema, Erling Haaland and Mbappe.
Egypt - Salah, Benzema, Lewandowski, Mane, Mbappe
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Netherlands - Salah, Benzema, Courtois, De Bruyne, Lewandowski
Senegal - Mane, Benzema, De Bruyne, Lewandowski, Mbappe
Slovenia - De Bruyne, Lewandowski, Benzema, Haaland, Mbappe
Benzema, 34, became the oldest Ballon d'Or winner since Stanley Matthews won the first edition of the award in 1956.
Speaking at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, the Frenchman said: "It makes me really proud.
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"All the work I did, I never gave up. It was a childhood dream like all kids [have]. I had two motivations in my life - Zidane and Ronaldo. I've always had this dream in my mind that anything is possible.
"There was a difficult period where I wasn't in the French team, but I never stopped working hard nor gave up. I always kept my head, concentrated on playing football and I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was a difficult time. It was hard for my family as well. To be here today, for the first time for me, I'm happy and pleased with my work and I keep going.
"I want to thank my team-mates, whether it's Real Madrid or the national team. My coach, thanks to him as well. The Real Madrid president as well.
"I have a lot of people to thank. It's an individual prize, but it's a collective one because everyone has played a role."