PARIS — The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony was held this week, and the prize was awarded to Karim Benzema for the first time. The 34-year-old Frenchman was extremely important in Real Madrid’s success in the past season, with them winning the La Liga title as well as the Champions League after a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final.

Along with the Ballon d’Or, a wide range of awards was given out on Monday night, including the Women’s Ballon d’Or, the Kopa trophy for the best U-21 player, the Yashin trophy for the best goalkeeper, the Gerd Muller Trophy for the top scorer, the Socrates Award for the player with the most charitable acts, and the Club of the Year award.

The winner of the Club of the Year was English side Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s men won the Premier League title last season with 93 points, just one point above Liverpool’s 92. However, some say the decision is controversial, with Real Madrid winning their domestic league, the Champions League, and the Supercopa. They came in third, with Liverpool coming in second.

The Socrates award for most charitable acts was given to Sadio Mane. The Senegalese winger made massive efforts to build homes and schools for his country. He also finished second in the Ballon d’Or ranking, which was one the highest finishes by an African player since George Weah took the award in 1995.

Robert Lewandowski was the winner of the Gerd Muller award. He was the top goalscorer last season with 50 goals in 46 appearances for Bayern Munich. He made a move for FC Barcelona last season and has already scored 14 goals in 13 appearances. He also finished fourth overall in the Ballon d’Or.

Many felt he was massively snubbed in 2021 when the award was given to Lionel Messi, who holds the record for the most wins in history (seven). However, the Argentine wasn’t nominated for the award this year.

The Yashin trophy was won by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian keeper conceded 46 goals and kept 22 clean sheets. Many will remember his phenomenal performance against Liverpool in the Champions League, where he made nine saves against the Reds, the record for most saves in a Champions League final. The 30-year-old also finished seventh in the overall Ballon d’Or rankings.

Courtois spoke out about his finish, claiming it’s “impossible” for a keeper to win the award now. He reiterates that his teammate Benzema deserves the award, but he said finishing seventh after the year that he had said a lot. Courtois is not wrong, to be fair. Only one keeper has ever won the Ballon d’Or, which was Soviet Union keeper Lev Yashin in 1963.

The Kopa Trophy was awarded to Gavi from Barcelona. He has 12 caps with Spain and will be an integral part of the future of the Barcelona squad. The Spanish club is keen on keeping the future star, tying him down to a contract that runs to 2026 and has a one billion euros release clause. Many fans feel that the decision was controversial, to say the least, believing that Bundesliga stars Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala were more deserving of the award. They each finished fourth and third, respectively. Eduardo Camavinga finished second after his first season with Real Madrid. Other notable names include Bukayo Saka from Arsenal, who finished eighth, and Nuno Mendes from PSG, who finished fifth.

The winner of the Women’s Ballon d’Or was Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas of FC Barcelona. She has become the first woman to win back-to-back Ballon d’Ors since its introduction in 2018. Before her, it was Megan Rapinoe in 2019 and Ada Hegerberg in 2018. Before she tore her ACL in July, preventing her from playing for Spain in the Women’s Euro, she led Barcelona’s Women’s Team to a La Liga title and guided them to a Women’s Champions League final. She held back tears during her acceptance speech, stating that she thought it was impossible for her to win.

And, of course, the winner of the Men’s Ballon d’Or was none other than Karim Benzema. It comes as no surprise that he was the winner this year. He was by far one of the best players on the planet last season. He had 44 goals and 15 assists in all competitions last season, with 27 goals in La Liga and 15 in the Champions League. He has also been recalled to the French National Team and will most likely be headed to Qatar with them this coming November.

Zinedine Zidane, the last French player to win the award in 1998, handed him the award on Monday night. The two players also share an origin in Algeria. Benzema thanked Zidane and former Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario for being his idols and inspiration. Ronaldo was also present at the award ceremony.

Along with the plethora of players and legends, a social media star was also present in Paris. Brazilian star Iran Ferreira, famous for his passion for support, long-range goals, and gloves with short sleeves, was invited and attended the ceremony. He had the chance to meet several current and former stars, including Ronaldo, De Bruyne, Saka, Ederson, and many more. He has amassed over 18 million Instagram followers and is even followed by Pele, one of the best players of all time.

Ferreira took the football world by storm in 2021 when he started posting content of his skills and goals. He became iconic thanks to his celebration, where he shouts “Receba!” after he scores his goals. He continues to post content and has also starred in commercials with McDonald’s of Brazil and Pepsi.