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Next week's Ballon d'Or title will be the 66th in the award's history and there have been four French players in history to receive the prestigious individual prize. You can catch the action live on Paramount+.

Real Madrid's Raymond Kopa was first in 1958, then came three consecutive titles for Juventus' Michel Platini between 1983-1985, Olympique de Marseille's Jean-Pierre Papin was next in 1991 with Juve's Zinedine Zidane the final French winner in 1998. Come Monday evening at Theatre du Chatelet, there may well be a new name added to the list of Ballon d'Or champions from the award's country of origin. 

Real's Karim Benzema produced arguably the best season of his career in 2021-22 with the Spanish giants winning their 14th UEFA Champions League, 35th La Liga and 12th Supercopa de Espana crowns at club level. On the international stage, Benzema celebrated his first silverware with France in the UEFA Nations League to complete his comeback after years away from Les Bleus following a well-documented blackmail scandal involving Mathieu Valbuena.

To say that Benzema was key to both Real and France's successes is an understatement given some of the goals he scored in some of the most important matches and in truth, it is hard to create an argument for any individual outside of the 34-year-old. 

The former Olympique Lyonnais man has already celebrated his first Pichichi title which is awarded to the top scorer in La Liga each season, with Benzema's 27 goals from 32 games enough to end Barcelona's run of six straight winners with five of those belonging to the departed Lionel Messi. However, Real comfortably won their latest Spanish crown by 13 points ahead of their bitter Catalan rivals, and it was in the Champions League where Benzema really underlined his talismanic status with 15 goals.

Many of the Frenchman's strikes came at crucial moments with his hat-trick turning the tide against Kylian Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and another treble ensuring that Real triumphed over Chelsea in the quarterfinals. Three of Los Blancos' six semifinal goals against Manchester City also came from Benzema as an 11-goal bonanza ended with Carlo Ancelotti's men setting up a Liverpool final which was won by Vinicius Junior's solitary strike at Stade de France.

Real's No. 9 was also vital in the first club success of the season with goals against Barca and Athletic Club to sew up another Supercopa crown. Benzema's importance was not limited to Real either with France claiming the second Nations League title by beating Belgium 3-2 and then Spain 2-1 which the Real man also contributed decisive goals in.

Aside from the Copa del Rey, there is not much more that Benzema could have done or won to strengthen his hand ahead of this Ballon d'Or vote. That he is French is simply coincidental now that the award is back under the France Football pavilion -- there is no doubt that he has performed arguably above all competition while contributing to collective success as well.

Franck Ribery's third-placed finish back in 2013 after sweeping to success with Bayern Munich was met with uproar which would pale in comparison should Benzema not take the top prize here with many already considering the Real star's success a foregone conclusion. If successful, Benzema will follow in the footsteps of Merengues teammate Luka Modric who was the 2018 winner.

Streaming details

  • Date: Monday, Oct. 17 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Theatre du Chatelet -- Paris, France
  • TV and live stream: Paramount+
  • Favorites to win: Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas

Ballon d'Or Ceremony on Paramount+

Paramount+ will present complete coverage of the 66th edition of the Ballon d'Or on Monday, Oct. 17. The ceremony, which will be hosted by Didier Drogba and Sandy Heribert live from Paris, begins at 2:30 PM, ET, streaming live on Paramount+. Red carpet coverage kicks off the day at 12:50 PM, ET. Coverage will culminate with an hour-long press conference beginning at 4 PM, ET, featuring interviews with winners.The awards that will be unveiled as part of France Football's Ballon d'Or ceremony streaming live on Paramount+ include:

  • Kopa Trophy (top young player)
  • Socrates Award (recognizes a player involved in social and charitable projects)
  • Women's Ballon d'Or
  • Yachine Trophy (top goalkeeper)
  • Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer award)
  • Best Club of the Year Trophy
  • Men's Ballon d'Or