- It's the end of an era for both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
- For the first time in 16 years, neither player finished in the top three of the Ballon d'Or standings.
For the first time in 16 years, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finished outside the top three in the Ballon d'Or standings, as this year's award was scooped by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.
Since 2005, the two superstars have dominated world soccer's most prestigious individual award, which is awarded to the best men's soccer player of the year by a vote of 100 journalists worldwide. Between them, the pair have won the prize 12 times.
But at Monday's award ceremony in Paris, Ronaldo finished 20th, his lowest ranking in 17 years, while Messi, who won his seventh award last year, did not make the shortlist for the first time since 2005.
Benzema's win made him only the second player aside from Ronaldo or Messi to win the accolade since 2008; Luka Modric of Real Madrid won in in 2018.
"This prize in front of me makes me really proud," said Benzema, who scored 44 goals in 46 games during the 2021/22 season to help Real win the Champions League and La Liga.
"When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up. Anything is possible."
—Karim Benzema (@Benzema) October 18, 2022
Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane, who was at Liverpool in 2021-22, finished second ahead of Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne in third.
FC Barcelona's Alexia Putellas retained the Women's Ballon d'Or, while the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best player under the age of 21, was won by Barcelona and Spain midfielder Gavi.
"I'm very happy to be back here," said Putellas after collecting her prize. "A year ago I was able to win this prize and it pushed me to want to get even better.
"Without my teammates this wouldn't have been possible. I want to thank the technical staff and the coach as well. And to thank everyone involved at the club off the pitch."