Ballon d’Or 2022: Sadio Mane names player to win award

Bayern Munich forward, Sadio Mane, has said Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema should win the Ballon d’Or this year.

Mane is also in the running for the prize, as he enjoyed an impressive season last term with Liverpool.

The Senegalese won two domestic cups with the Reds, while finishing second in the Premier League and receiving a runners-up medal in the Champions League.

It was Benzema and his Madrid team-mates who ended Liverpool’s hopes of winning a seventh European crown.

Although the 34-year-old didn’t score in the final, he was prolific in the knockout stages as he continued to step up when Los Blancos looked down and out.

Benzema also helped Los Blancos claim the LaLiga title, finishing the season with 44 goals – the highest total of his career.

“Honestly, I think that Karim deserves it this year. He’s had a great, great season with Real Madrid. He’s won the Champions League… I think he easily deserves it, so I’m happy for him.

“I know I won the African Cup of Nations, it was a relief for me and for the whole country, and I’m really happy to have won my first AFCON with my country.

“But I think it’s Karim who deserves it, and I honestly believe that,” Mane said.