UCL: Benzema hat-trick puts Chelsea on brink of exit as Villarreal beat Bayern
BY Jonathan Ledger
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid striker and captain, has been named the 2022 UEFA men’s player of the year.
The French forward clinched the highly coveted gong on Thursday ahead of Thibaut Courtois, his teammate, and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City playmaker.
The award ceremony took place after the UEFA Champions League draw 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 Madrid 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.
The former Olympic Lyonnais star was also part of the French National side that won the UEFA Nations League.
Benzema, who has won 23 trophies with Real Madrid, has scored 325 goals and provided 160 assists in 608 appearances so far for the current La Liga champions.
Alexia Putellas was named the UEFA women’s player of the year while Carlo Ancelotti won the coach of the year award.
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