Esteban Ocon, the French Formula One driver, did the honour of getting the Ballon d’Or trophy to the venue ahead of the award ceremony on Monday in Paris. Ocon drove his flagship Alpine F1 racing car with the coveted Ballon d’Or award safely tied to the front wing. 

Also read: Watch: Alexia Putellas of Barcelona wins Ballon d’Or Féminin

Watch the video here: 

The 2022 Ballon d’Or award was won by the French footballer Karim Benzema who plays for the Spanish club Real Madrid. 

The 34-year-old became the fifth French player in the history of the Ballon d’Or award to win the trophy. He produced a series of stellar performances in the 2021-22 season, taking Real Madrid to their 14th Champions League title. 

Also read: Karim Benzema wins the 2022 Ballon d’Or award

Benzema was the top goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League, netting a total of 17 goals last season. He also won the Golden Boot award in La Liga after scoring 27 goals last season. 

Along with Benzema, Alexia Putellas, the Spanish footballer who plays for Barcelona’s women’s team won the Ballon d’Or Feminin.

Two new awards were instituted at the 2022 Ballon d’Or – the Gerd Muller Trophy and the Socrates Award. The Gerd Muller trophy will henceforth be given to the highest goalscorer across all top-flight leagues in Europe, while the Socrates award will be given to the footballer with significant off-the-field contributions.

Robert Lewandowski won the first Gerd Muller trophy while Sadio Mane won the Socrates Award. 

Also read: Robert Lewandowski wins the Gerd Muller trophy at the 2022 Ballon d’Or

The title for the best club of the 2021-22 season was won by Manchester City even though they lost the final to Real Madrid. Liverpool came second on the list, whereas Real Madrid bagged the third spot. 

Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, finished at the 20th spot in the league. Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi failed to make it to the final shortlist after an unremarkable season with Paris Sain Germain.