Real Madrid and French international, Karim Benzema, has been named the 2022 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.
The French striker clinched the highly coveted gong on Thursday ahead of Thibaut Courtois, his teammate, and Manchester City playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne.
The award ceremony took place after the UEFA Champions League draw was held at the Haliç Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey.
The winner was selected by a jury composed of coaches of clubs that participated at the group stages of the UCL, Europa League and Europa Conference League, and a group of journalists.
Benzema led Real Madrid to their 14th UCL crown, scoring 15 goals in the season. He was also named the UEFA Champions League player of the season.
He led Real to secure the Spanish La Liga title, leading the domestic scoring charts with 27 goals.
His superb form in the knockout stages led Real Madrid into the UCL final; he scored back-to-back hat-tricks in the second round and quarter final against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea respectively, while his extra-time penalty knocked out Manchester City in the semi-final.
