Ballon d'Or 2022: Cristiano Ronaldo 'to attend' - Karim Benzema expected to win | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make a surprise appearance at the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony.

The Manchester United star hasn’t attended a Ballon d’Or ceremony since 2017 – the year he won his fifth and most-recent Ballon d’Or award.

He skipped the 2018 ceremony (won by Luka Modric), 2019 ceremony (won by Lionel Messi) and 2021 ceremony (won by Messi again) and wasn’t expected to attend next week’s ceremony in Paris.

Ronaldo is not expected to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or. The 37-year-old is currently the 10th favourite to win the prestigious individual accolade, behind the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

Who will win the 2022 Ballon d'Or?

There’s one overwhelming favourite to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or and that’s Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema.

The French striker played a pivotal role in Madrid’s Champions League success last season, scoring 15 goals throughout the tournament.

Benzema also won La Liga with Real Madrid, wrapping up the Pichichi Trophy with 27 goals. No other player in Spain’s top flight scored more than 18 goals last term.

Benzema sacrificed parts of his game for Ronaldo

Benzema and Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in the same summer (2009) and went on to develop a fantastic understanding together on the pitch.

During their nine years playing together, Ronaldo was the team’s main goalscorer. Benzema still chipped in with his fair share of goals every season but his primary objective was to play a supporting role for Cristiano.

Ronaldo will never forget that, at times, Benzema essentially sacrificed part of his game so that his superstar teammate could flourish.

Benzema never displayed any signs of jealously towards Ronaldo. He knew it was in the best interests of the team to get the ball to Ronaldo, who scored a remarkable 450 goals in 438 games for Los Blancos.

Benzema's game has changed since Ronaldo left Real Madrid

It’s only since Ronaldo left the Bernabeu that Benzema has become the main main at Madrid, and his reputation as a world-class footballer has undoubtedly been enhanced over the past couple of seasons as a result.

"It's been different for me since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid,” the 34-year-old told reporters in August.

"It's true that I've scored many more goals, but when Cristiano was here, we had a different style of play, I was providing more assists. He really helped me on and off the pitch.

"But at that time, I did know that I could do more and when he left, it was the time to change my game, change my ambitions and I am doing that well at the moment."

Photo sums up Benzema's selflessness

There’s an image of Benzema applauding Ronaldo and three other teammates who won individual awards on the Bernabeu during the mid-2010s.

The photo perfectly sums up Benzema’s selflessness.

Will Ronaldo present Benzema with the Ballon d'Or?

Now Ronaldo is ready to repay his teammate by attending next week’s ceremony to watch his friend recieve the Ballon d’Or.

Le Parisien - per SI.com - state: “Cristiano Ronaldo will be at the Ballon d'Or ceremony as he knows his friend Karim Benzema is set to win it. He will be there to support him.”

There’s even talk that Ronaldo will be the person who presents Benzema with the Ballon d’Or.

Now that would be a lovely moment.

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