French & Madrid Star Karim Benzema & Spanish, Barca Star Alexia Putellas wins the Ballon d'Or 2022 award, Stats.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema becomes the first Frenchman to won the men's Ballon d'Or on Monday since Zidane won it 1998, In the women's Ballon d'Or contest, Alexia Putellas of Spain wins the the Women's Ballon d'Or for the second -straight year.

In 2021-22, Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games to help Real Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga.

Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich, who played for Liverpool in 2021-22, finished second, ahead of Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.

The award-winning midfielder, 28, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the summer and missed Spain's Euro 2022 campaign.

____

Putellas was Barcelona's leading scorer in the Champions League last season, with 11 goals in 10 games before her injury.

Chelsea forward Sam Kerr finished third, followed by Arsenal attacker Beth Mead on 2nd.

England's Mead was named Euros 2022's best player after winning the Golden Boot, finished as top scorer, as the Lionesses secured their first major trophy with a 2-1 victory over Germany at Wembley.

Karim Benzema became the fifth Frenchman to win it after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin and Zinedine Zidane, who was crowned in 1998, the year France won its first World Cup.

Putellas scored 42 goals and delivered 22 assists last season. She became the first player to win the award twice.

Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded to men winners every year since 1956 when Stanley Matthews won

Premier League champions Manchester City, who had six nominees at the ceremony, were awarded Club of the Year ahead of Liverpool.

Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Muller award for the Best Striker Of The Year, after scoring 57 goals for Bayern Munich and Poland in 2021-22.

Madrid's Thibaut Courtois won the Lev Yashin Award for Best Goalkeeper.

The Inaugural Socrates Award, a humanitarian prize, went to Mane for his charity work in Senegal, including building a hospital and donating to schools.

2022 Ballon d'Or results, Men's Top 10 Rankings.

1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France).

2. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, Senegal).

3. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium).

4. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland).

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt).

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain, France).

7. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium).

8. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, Brazil).

9. Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia).

10. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway).

2022 Ballon d'Or results, Women's Top 10 Rankings.

1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

2. Beth Mead (Arsenal / England, forward)

3. Sam Kerr (Chelsea / Australia, forward)

4. Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg / Germany, midfielder)

5. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

6. Alex Popp (Wolfsburg / Germany, forward)

7. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon /Norway, forward)

8. Wendie Renard (Lyon / France, defender)

9. Catarina Macario (Lyon / United States, midfielder)

10. Lucy Bronze (Barcelona / England, defender)

____