International striker Karim Benzema appears to be an extraordinary candidate for the Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, becoming the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Zinedine Zidane after nearly a quarter of a century.

There are 30 candidates vying for the most prestigious individual awards in football, but Benzema is out of the crowd after his impressive performances last season that helped crown Real Madrid the European and Spanish champions.

The 34-year-old scored 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season with the Royal Club, including 15 in the Champions League.

In the continental competition, he presented extraordinary levels in front of the strongest teams of the championship, recording a hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain within 17 minutes in the second half in the second leg of the second leg of the final, and Chelsea in England in the first leg of the quarter-finals. He also scored three goals in the two semi-final matches against Manchester City, to lead the team to the final, in which it beat Liverpool.

Benzema won the European Player of the Year award presented by the European Union (UEFA) last August and is going through the best period of his career nearly a month before the World Cup.

A former pariah, he was left out of the national team for five and a half years due to his involvement in a blackmail scandal involving former team-mate Matteo Valbuena, but he has put that behind him and is playing the best football of his career as his 35th birthday approaches the day after the World Cup final.

He recently said, “The most important thing for me is to win the team championships. If you do things right on the pitch, then individual awards will follow.”

His victory at the Théâtre du Châtelet in the French capital on Monday seems decided.

“If they don’t cancel (the award), it is possible that he will win this Ballon d’Or,” Poland striker Robert Lewandowski joked Thursday.

The current Barcelona striker was the favorite to win the individual award in 2020 when he was defending the colors of Bayern Munich, but the ceremony was canceled for the first time since the award was established in 1956 due to the Corona virus pandemic.

– Messi’s absence – She returned last year and was crowned by Argentine Lionel Messi for the seventh time, enhancing his record, but he was not a candidate this year after a disappointing first season with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, crowned five times, is present, while the Brazilian Neymar, Messi’s teammate in Saint-Germain, is absent from the last list.

In addition to Benzema, there are four Real Madrid players who contributed to the continental title last season: Brazilian Vinicius Junior, veteran Luka Modric, who won the award in 2018, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who moved to Manchester United.

The list also included the Norwegian Erling Haaland, who has been brilliant with Manchester City this season, Kylian Mbappe, Lewandowski and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, but Benzema is flying away from them.

If he wins, he will become the fifth Frenchman to achieve this feat after Raymond Koba (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991) and Zidane (1998).

Previously, the award was given based on the player’s performance throughout the year. But the system has changed, and it has become what it offers during the season.

Among the women, the competition looks even more intense for the fourth Golden Ball awarded for the first time in 2018.

There are three players from the England team that won the European Cup in the final list of 20 players, including Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright, while Arsenal striker Beth Mead appears to be the luckiest after scoring six goals in the continental tournament.

There are also chances for Australia’s Sam Kerr and Germany’s Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Pope, or Spain’s Alexia Botías may retain the award.

Botías, 28, is currently recovering from a severe knee injury that prevented her from participating in the Euros with her country and is not expected to play this season.

The midfielder, who succeeded the Norwegian Ada Hegerberg and the American Megan Rapinoe to the award last year, led Barcelona to the League and Cup double, in addition to the Champions League final last season.

She was the best scorer in the continental competition with 11 goals, but Barcelona lost the final against Lyon.

Winners will also receive NFT tokens as well as a hologram, while awarding magazine France Football has added a new humanitarian award called Socrates, after the former Brazilian midfielder.

France Football said the award would be given “for the best social initiative by committed champions”.

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