French football superstar and Real Madrid forward has won the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.
The 34-year-old, who last season spearheaded Real Madrid’s victorious UEFA Champions League campaign and helped France to UEFA Nations League success, held off competition from club-mate Thibaut Courtois and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
🥇 The 2021/22 UEFA Men's Player of the Year is… KARIM BENZEMA!
⚽ 15 #UCL goals – including 10 in the knockouts – as well as 27 in the Spanish Liga!
🇫🇷 Add a #NationsLeague triumph with France and it was an unforgettable campaign!
👏 Congratulations, Karim!#UEFAawards pic.twitter.com/4tMZcunNRE
— UEFA (@UEFA) August 25, 2022
Receiving the award on stage, 34-year-old Benzema said:
“I am so happy and proud to be here, I’d first thank my club,, my president and my coach who is here and all my teammates. Without them, I would not get that kind of trophy. It’s the first time I’ve won this trophy but for me the most important thing is to win trophies with the team.
“Mr Ancelotti is the best coach in the world; he gets it right with every player, he gives us confidence and he tells you what to do before every match.
“My best memory from last season is the return leg against Paris-Saint-Germain. With the help of our fans, we managed to turn the game on its head and progress. They gave us a lot of self-confidence to demonstrate that we were the best team.”
The award was announced during the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.
The top ten
1 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France) – 523 points
2 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium) – 122 points
3 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid & Belgium) – 118 points
4 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern, now Barcelona & Poland) – 54 points
5 Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia) – 52 points
6 Sadio Mané (Liverpool, now Bayern & Senegal) – 51 points
7 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) – 46 points
8 Kylian Mbappé (Paris & France) – 25 points
9 Vinícius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil) – 21 points
10 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands) – 19 points
Achievements in 2021/22
UEFA Champions League winner, UEFA Champions League Player of the Season, UEFA Nations League winner, Spanish Liga winner, Spanish Super Cup winner
UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 12
Goals: 15
Assists: 1
Player of the Match awards: 4
Domestic League
Appearances: 32
Goals: 27
Assists: 12
Other 2021/22 URFA award winners.
Women’s Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas
Men’s Coach of the Year: Carlo Ancelotti
Women’s Coach of the Year: Sarina Wiegman
President’s Award: Arrigo Sacchi.
Topics
UEFA Awards France Real Madrid Karim Benzema Football Sports Kolkata
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