Karim Benzema wins UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award

The Real Madrid and France forward has won the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema with his award in Istanbul

Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema has been named 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.

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.

“I’m really happy,” he said as he collected his award. “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.”

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

www.uefa.com