Ballon d'Or: Karim Benzema's brilliant speech about Ronaldo after award win | OneFootball

Karim Benzema is officially the best footballer on the planet.

On Monday evening, the Real Madrid striker was presented with the coveted Ballon d’Or award at a star-studded ceremony in Paris.

Benzema was the overwhelming favourite to win the accolade following his spectacular form for both club and country in recent times.

The 34-year-old was an instrumental figure in Real Madrid's spectacular double-winning season in 2021/22.

Benzema won his first Pichichi Award after scoring 27 goals in just 32 La Liga games, while he also bagged an astonishing 15 goals in Champions League action.

Yeah, the former Lyon man is pretty darn good at football.

What did Benzema say after winning the 2022 Ballon d'Or?

Benzema's speech after winning football's biggest individual prize was rather emotional, the forward naming Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario as his two idols.

The France international also couldn't resist waxing lyrical about Ronaldo, who was present at the ceremony.

Per Spanish-speaking Twitter account Planeta do Futebol, which has close to 1.5 million followers, Benzema said about his footballing idol: “For me there is no other striker like him [Ronaldo]. What he did on the field is something impossible to repeat. In history he's the only striker that, if he's on my team, I'll be on the bench without saying anything."

That's praise of the highest order right there - and Benzema probably isn't the only current world-class footballer who thinks the same way about 'El Fenomeno'.

It's safe to say Benzema is a huge fan of Ronaldo - and vice versa.

Before the Frenchman won his first Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo - a two-time winner of the award himself (1997 & 2002) - spoke glowingly in an interview about the player who idolises him.

Video: Ronaldo said Benzema deserved to win the 2022 Ballon d'Or

Lovely stuff.

How many Real Madrid players have now won the Ballon d'Or?

Benzema is the eighth Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d'Or, the other seven being Ronaldo (of course), Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Alfredo di Stefano, Raymond Kopa, Luis Figo and Fabio Cannavaro.

Los Blancos are now tied with fierce rivals Barcelona on 12 Ballon d'Or wins apiece and the Spanish giants are the only two clubs currently on double figures in that regard.

Both Juventus and AC Milan boast eight winners each, while Bayern Munich make up the top five with five triumphs overall.