Ballon d’Or 2022 winner Karim Benzema’s Real Madrid teammate unhappy with awards verdict

After France star Karim Benzema won the coveted Ballon d’Or award for 2022, his Real Madrid teammate and star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has kicked up a debate on the awards’ verdict. Courtois, who himself won the Lev Yashin trophy for being the standout goalkeeper, asserted that the Ballon d’Or awards were unfair to goalkeepers. 

Courtois was pivotal to Madrid’s success last season, standing tall between the posts and clinching 22 clean sheets. As the Spanish giants won the double with La Liga and Champions League, Courtois only let 46 goals go past him the entire season. He finished seventh in the Ballon d’Or rankings and was not pleased with the result.  

 Courtois was quoted as saying that he sees it as impossible for goalkeepers to top the Ballon d’Or table. 

"You win La Liga and you win the Champions League, your team wins thanks to your saves… and you only finish seventh. The truth is that I see it as impossible,” Courtois was quoted to have said be Spanish news outlet Teledeporte

“In the top 10, there wasn’t even a single defender. At least this year they have invented the trophy for best goalkeeper," Courtois added.

Courtois found support in former Real Madrid goalkeeper and legend Iker Casillas, who said that he was not happy that the Yashin award winner was not given a podium spot.

“I'm happy for @thibautcourtois! By far he is the BEST GOALKEEPER in the WORLD. What I'm not happy about is not having put him on the final podium for that #BallonDor . I still don't understand what those who choose this award are based on,” Casillas tweeted.

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