And there you have it – Karim Benzema, Ballon d'Or 2022 winner. If that has come as a shock to you, then where have you been the past 12 months?
Benzema's prize is thoroughly well deserved after a 2021-22 season that saw him cement his status as one of the best centre-forwards of his generation, and a Real Madrid icon.
He won three trophies over the course of the campaign, including a La Liga-Champions League double, while he was also instrumental in France winning the UEFA Nations League.
A leader through both his weight of personality and his on-field performances, Benzema was, in the end, the run-away winner in the Ballon d'Or vote.
But how did he do it? GOAL tells the story of one of the best individual seasons of the past few years...
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