Karim Benzema fulfilled the predictions and was awarded the Ballon d'Or 2022 by the magazine 'France Football'. The open secret was confirmed on Monday during the gala held in Paris.
Zinedine Zidane, former Real Madrid coach, was in charge of presenting the prestigious award to the striker. The French coach was full of praise for his compatriot in an interview for 'L'Equipe': "He makes spectacular controls. His "touch of the ball" isexcellent. It's beautiful to watch him when you're three metres away from him.
"Karim has been more than important in my coaching career. These kind of players, like Toni Kroos or Luka Modric, when you are a coach you are happy to have them with you," he added.
Furthermore, Zidane himself explained his special relationship with Benzema: "I'm almost a big brother to Karim. That's what we both like to call each other: little brother and big brother".
"We really have a lot of things in common, from our origins. Our families come from nearby villages in Algeria, in the small Kabylia, we have spoken about it several times," Zidane pointed out.
