Patience is a virtue. And that’s why Karim Benzema had to be rewarded for all those years spent in Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow. Although he has already entered his fourth decade of life, the Frenchman flourished with the departure of the Portuguese to Juventus. He led Real Madrid to a trophy in the Champions League and two in the Primera Division, and the recognition that he was the best footballer in the world last season officially arrived on Monday evening in Paris, with the presentation of the Ballon d’Or.It has been known for months that the accolade will end up in Benzema’s hands, although during the last election it happened that Robert Lewandowski was unrightfully passed by and despite the expectations of the majority Lionel Messi was declared the best for the sixth time. For this reason, even the organizers from France Football changed the rule and instead of looking at the performance in the calendar year, they decided that from 2022 the decision will be made based on what was achieved in the competition year. And when that was the case, there was no dilemma.##NAJAVA_MECA_6736916##In the 2021/2022 season, Real Madrid’s experienced striker scored 44 goals and had 15 assists in 46 appearances for the Royal Club. With Real, he won the Champions League, La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and the European Super Cup. In the four seasons of the Spanish championship since Ronaldo’s departure in the summer of 2018, he scored over 20 goals in each of them (21, 21, 23, 27), and in the current one he has four goals in six matches.Karim Benzema’s quality has never been disputed. He demonstrated it back in Lyon, with whom he was the champion of France for four consecutive years. After all, this is confirmed by the 35,000,000 euros (41,000,000 with bonuses) that Real paid to the French club in 2009 for the transfer of the then-21-year-old forward. He was brought in at the same time as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa, Ezekiel Garay and Esteban Granero.Fantastic photo of Real Madrid’s 2009 summer signings. Potentially the best transfer window in the history of the club. pic.twitter.com/iBBHprOPzz— RM. (@rmdanalysis) July 13, 2020 Although consistently standard in the first team and an important asset of every coach who has been on the Madrid bench since 2009, the Frenchman had to wait to receive the deserved recognition on an individual level. The team trophies were lined up, but until the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, all Benzema had was the recognition for the best player of Real Madrid in the season 2015/2016. When the Portuguese left the club, Benzema received three more mentioned awards in a row, four times he was in the best Primera team, twice he was officially declared the best player of the Spanish championship, three times in the reader’s choice of the respected Marca and, what is most interesting in the sea of trophies that the Frenchman won during his career, only last season he was the league’s top scorer for the first time (admittedly, in addition to Ronaldo, Leo Messi had a significant impact on that).”It was an honor to play with him, he is the best. The day he left, the ambition to be even better was awakened in me. I got the motivation to do more things on the field,” admitted the Frenchman during the ceremony in Paris.BALLON D’OR: Finally, as befits and as it is only right – Karim Benzema!Benzema believed in himself, and so did his former role model, Thierry Henry.”In a world full of Ronaldo and Messi fans, I have been a fan of Karim Benzema for 15 years. They laughed at me when I said that playing for Real Madrid he would one day be a candidate for the Ballon d’Or. But every hero has his day. Never stop training. Be like Karim,” the former goalscorer told the younger generations.Karim Benzema turns 35 on December 19, and most of it is known about his career achievements, statistical data, and his involvement in blackmailing his national team teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, for which he was sentenced to a year in prison and did not play for France for years.But do you know why and how long Benzema wears a bandage around his right hand?Todo lo que toca…¡@Benzema, nuevo #BallondOr 2022! 👑@adidasfootball | #ImpossibleIsNothing pic.twitter.com/uLZDOnplDg— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) October 17, 2022 The brilliant goal scorer played for the first time with wrapped-up fingers in 2019. Since then, the bandage has been a regular part of his equipment and on-pitch appearance, and many will say that it is superstition. Because why else would someone play with two fingers wrapped for three years? It is, in fact, an injury.In 2019, in the January clash with Betis, Benzema injured his pinky finger of his right hand after slipping on Marc Bartra’s foot. The doctors told him that he needed an operation, after which he would have to rest for two months, but the Frenchman did not want to listen. At that moment, Real Madrid were only fifth in the table and he did not want to leave the team while they were ‘on the low’. He asked the doctors to bandage his hand and in the very next match he was back on the field, playing all 90 minutes against Sevilla in a 2-0 victory. Then, two weeks after the injury, he scored twice against Espanyol (4-2 for Real).He waited until the end of the season with the operation, but he did not want to rest for the necessary time. And then he injured the same finger again.##EDITORS_CHOICE##”I had an operation, but the problem is that the recovery period lasts two months, and I wanted to be with the team. Then I injured the same finger again, but I don’t have time for a new operation, so that’s why I play with a bandage,” explained the Frenchman at one since the press conferences at the beginning of last season.The taped fingers and wrist became Benzema’s trademark over time, so much so that even his video game character wears it. And, in the eyes of Real’s fans, Benzema is a true superhero.
