“In the legend”: the Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema in the spotlight in the international press

Published on: 18/10/2022 – 11:30 Karim Benzema became, on Monday, the fifth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or. The press is unanimous on the merit of the attacker and captain of Real Madrid after his exceptional season. The coronation of Karim Benzema at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday made the rounds of the world press. The Madrid native won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in football, at the age of 34. Unsurprisingly, it was France Football, which has organized the Ballon d’Or since 1956, which got the ball rolling by unveiling the cover of its special issue as soon as the prize was awarded: “un si BO rêve”, he says. , playing between the consonance of the consecrated abbreviation for the reward and the adjective “beautiful”. L’Équipe followed in the footsteps of the weekly with its front page. The leading sports daily in France explains that the “Ballon [est] at home”. For its part, the regional newspaper “Le Progrès” believes that the child of Bron, located in the Lyon conurbation, has now entered “legend”. Le Républicain Lorrain is the only other regional daily with Le Courier Picard to place Benzema on its front page, to underline the “planetary consecration” of “KB9”. Celebrating in Spain , the pro-Real Madrid daily, recalls that he waited faithfully in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo before stepping into the spotlight. The Spanish newspaper says: “He was seen as Ronaldo’s partner for years. But now it’s his turn to shine”. The pro-Barça newspapers logically make him share the front page with the Barcelonan Alexia Putellas, who retained his crown. “Justified and golden”, affirms Marca, while the Mundo deportivo speaks of “pure gold”. In Italy, England or Germany, the newspapers did not go so far as to devote their coverage to Karim Benzema. On the other hand, the editorial staff of the Daily Mail speaks of a “deserved reward in view of of the form displayed by the 34-year-old player” while the Gazzetta dello Sport and Bild hail respectively “the triumph of Karim” and the “new king of football”.