Brazil icon Ronaldo claims Karim Benzema should ‘without a doubt win Ballon d’Or’, not Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi
LEGENDARY Brazil striker Ronaldo has claimed that Karim Benzema should be the recipient of the Ballon d’Or this season.
The Real Madrid ace, 33, is one of 30 nominees for the inaugural award, along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Messi is the current holder, having won the title in 2019 with last year’s ceremony being cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
And he finally led his country to silverware over the summer – captaining Argentina to a Copa America win.
But Ronaldo is adamant that French striker Benzema should earn the gong.
“Without a doubt, my candidate for the Ballon d’Or is Benzema,” he shared on Facebook.
“The best striker, brutal level for 10 years and champion above all. Don’t you think?”
Benzema’s form in the past year has seen him brought out of the international wilderness to earn a recall for France.
Last campaign, he scored 30 goals in all competitions for Los Blancos.
While this season, the burly forward has 10 goals in as many games for the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is also in agreement with Ronaldo.
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“For what he’s doing and for what he’s done, he has to be in the list of possible winners,” he said last month.
“Saying that, Karim’s got time to win it. I somehow doubt this is his final season – he’s like a fine wine; the older he gets the better he is.”
The men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or winners will be crowned at a gala event at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris on 29 November.