Ballon d’Or results LIVE: Winners revealed as Karim Benzema beats Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne to award
Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the second year in a row while Thibaut Courtois, Sadio Mane, Robert Lewandowski and Gavi also won prizes
Karim Benzema has won the men’s Ballon d’Or, becoming just the second player outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to be awarded the prize in the past 15 years. Benzema won the trophy after leading Real Madrid to the LaLiga and Champions League double last season and scoring a remarkable 44 goals in 46 appearances for the Spanish club.
Benzema finished ahead of Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne and Robert Lewandowski at the Paris ceremony to crown a sensational year for the France international, as he followed his Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric by breaking through Messi and Ronaldo’s dominance of football’s greatest individual prize.
Earlier, Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas became the first two-time winner of the Ballon d’Or Feminin after taking back-to-back awards. England and Arsenal forward Beth Mead, who was the top scorer at Euro 2020, finished second, ahead of the Chelsea striker Sam Kerr. Barcelona midfielder Gavi won the Kopa Trophy for best young player while Thibaut Courtois won the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper.
Ballon d’Or: Benzema’s golden year
Benzema scored an astonishing 44 goals in 46 appearances for Real Madrid but it will be his form in the Champions League knockout stages that will be remembered if he is the winner of the Ballon d’Or tonight.
Across seven remarkale games, Benzema:
- Scored a hat-trick against PSG to overturn a 1-0 defeat
- Scored another hat-trick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
- Scored the winner in extra-time to knock out Chelsea in the QFs
- Scored twice against City including a panenka in the SFs
- Scored the winner against City to send Madrid to the final
- Won his fifth Champions League title after Madrid beat Liverpool
Ballon d’Or: Revealing the top 10
So that leaves the following players to complete the top 10 - but in what order will they be?
- Karim Benzema
- Thibaut Courtois
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Erling Haaland
- Robert Lewandowski
- Kylian Mbappe
- Luka Modric
- Mohamed Salah
- Sadio Mane
- Vinicius Junior
Ballon d’Or: Son Heung-min (11th)
Ranked 10 places higher than his Tottenham strike partner Harry Kane, Son just misses out on the top 10 after a sensational season for Spurs where he shared the golden boot with Mohamed Salah with 23 goals. Son, who is the leading Asian player in the rankings, was also named in the Premier League team of the season after helping Tottenham qualify for the Champions League.
Ballon d’Or: Riyad Mahrez (12th)
Mahrez set a career-best tally of goals last season as he scored 24 times for Manchester City in all competitions. This included 11 in the Premier League as he won his fourth title and seven in the Champions League as City reached the semi-finals, where Mahrez scored in the Bernabeu before Real Madrid’s comeback.
Ballon d’Or: Fabinho (=14th)
Fabinho scored eight goals for Liverpool last season, his best return for the club, but he also returned to his best in screening Jurgen Klopp’s defence in the run to the Champions League final. An injury late in the season meant he missed the FA Cup final and wasn’t fully match fit for the Champions League final.
Ballon d’Or: Rafael Leao (=14th)
Another player who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time, the Portugal forward played a crucial part in AC Milan’s first Serie A triumph in 11 years. With 11 goals and 10 assists, he was named the league’s MVP for last season.
Ballon d’Or: Virgil van Dijk (16th)
After missing the previous season due to an ACL injury, Van Dijk returned to full fitness and was back to his best to help Liverpool reach their top level, too. The defender was named in both the Premier League and Champions League team of the season.
Ballon d’Or: Casemiro (=17th)
The Brazil midfielder remained as pivotal to Real Madrid as ever as he helped the club win the La Liga title and their 14th Champions League. It was Casemiro’s fifth Champions League and he left the Bernabeu in the summer after an emotional goodbye but as a club legend.
Ballon d’Or: Dusan Vlahovic (=17th)
Another player who moved clubs mid-season, Vlahovic also enjoyed a breakthrough season in which he scored a stunning 17 goals in Serie A for Fiorentina before January - catching the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs. He remained in Italy and joined Juventus, where he scored within seconds of his Champions League debut, and has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
Ballon d’Or: Luis Diaz (=17th)
The winger enjoyed a breakthrough season after his form for Porto caught the eye of Manchester United and Tottenham, but it was Liverpool who swept to sign the Colombian in January. He made an instant impact to help the Reds to the Champions League final, win the League Cup and FA Cup and earn a first nomination for the Ballon d’Or.
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