The former Arsenal star feels his former Los Blancos teammate deserved the prestigious prize following his performance against the Citizens
Fans have backed Mesut Ozil’s declaration that Karim Benzema deserves to win 2022 Ballon d’Or.
Buoyed by his former Real Madrid teammate’s inspiring performance against Manchester City, the former Germany international tweeted that Frenchman is deserving of the prestigious honour.
Benzema was on target twice although Los Blancos suffered a 4-3 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Citizens in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
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With that, two records tumbled for the 34-year-old. First, he became the fifth player to score 40+ goals in a single season in Madrid’s history, after Cristiano Ronaldo (seven times), Ferenc Puskas (twice), Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.
Also, Benzema has scored six Uefa Champions League goals against English sides this season, the joint-most by a player in a single season (also six by Lionel Messi in 2018-19 and Serge Gnabry in 2019-20).
Many enthusiasts went on social media to support Ozil’s claim.
Some feel it should go to Kevin De Bruyne.
Many of the fans are not interested in the Ballon d’Or debate instead are focused on the seven-goal thriller.
With both teams leaking at least three goals, they feel neither Real Madrid nor Manchester City deserve the title due to their poor defensive performance.
Interestingly, this was only the second ever Champions League semi-final match to see both sides score three or more goals, after Dynamo Kyiv 3-3 Bayern Munich in April 1999.
What is your take on Ozil's comment on Benzema's Ballon d'Or chances? Let's know in the comments