The Real Champs
Fansided

Real Madrid: Where does Karim Benzema rank amongst the Ballon d’Or favourites?

By Ranoveer Neogi

Real Madrid, Karim Benzema (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid, Karim Benzema (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
PSG, Lionel Messi
PSG, Lionel Messi (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images) /

2. LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA/ PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

Lionel Messi is on course towards possibly winning his seventh Ballon d’Or and cementing his position as the greatest ever player in football history. The 34-year-old started last season on a slow note with Barcelona after he had reportedly wanted to leave the club but his transfer requested was rejected by the board.

Despite the slow start to the season, Lionel Messi ended up with the most goals in La Liga after scoring 30 goals in 35 games along with 11 assists. At the end of the season, Messi completed his final season with Barcelona with 38 goals and 14 assists in all competitions while also winning the Copa del Rey.

While Lionel Messi’s performances with Barcelona were impressive, the biggest talking point for his Ballon d’Or case was finally winning the Copa America with Argentina. Messi played a fundamental role in guiding Argentina to the Copa America with four goals and nine assists in the competition.

His triumph with Argentina puts him ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowksi who also enjoyed prolific individual campaigns with the club and country but failed to win any silverware on the international stage.

Then there’s also Lionel Messi’s public relations and marketability that makes him one of the clear favourites to win it. But if there’s one person who could truly challenge Messi to the Ballon d’Or this season then it is none other than Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. Let’s get to that now.

Home/Analysis