Karim Benzema wins Onze d’Or award pipping Lionel Messi
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Karim Benzema likely to be added to the 26-man roster by Didier Deschamps ahead of the European championships
Real Madrid veteran and star striker, Karim Benzema has won Onze d’Or award pipping the Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski on Friday. The Real Madrid striker received the highest number of votes compared to Lionel Messi and Lewandowski. The French striker got 43% votes whereas the Argentine international got 20%. In the previous season, Liverpool winger, Sadio Mane won the prestigious trophy.
Karim Benzema has been a talisman for Los Blancos ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid. The striker scored 21 goals in 2019/20 season and continued his fine run in 2020/21 as well. The player has 29 goals in 45 games across all competitions for Real Madrid in the ongoing season.
What is Onze d’Or award?
Onze d’Or is the award given by the French magazine, Onze Mondial, to the player who is the fan favorite across Europe. The magazine readers select the top XI players across Europe and the top three amongst the list are eligible for the Onze d’Or or Onze Mondial European Footballer of the Year. The winner receives Onze d’Or whereas the second placed is known as Onze d’Argent and the third placed is known as Onze d’Bronze.
Karim Benzema is awarded for his excellent and consistent performances on the pitch. Didier Deschamps has selected the player for Euros 2020. The striker mentioned that it is an honour to win the award and dedicated his trophy to his persistence. Talking to Onze Mondial, the player said:
I've been waiting for a long time to return (to the French national team). I'm always working and I've never given up. I really want to be with the French team, to train and to play matches because it's a team with a lot of talent. I want to play for them, I 've been going up, up and up. I don't like to say that I'm better at something than others, but I try to be inventive on the pitch
Real Madrid have a huge task to cut out on the final day of the season. Not only they have to register a victory against Unai Emery’s Villareal on Saturday but also they have to hope for Atletico Madrid’s poor outing against Valladoid to win the title. If Atletico Madrid win the game, it’s all over for Real Madrid. The veteran striker has a huge role to play in the final fixture of the season.
Also Read: Karim Benzema looks forward to teaming up with Kylian Mbappe for France in EURO 2020
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Varun Aithal
(480 Articles Published)