Real Madrid captain, Karim Benzema was on Thursday announced as the UEFA Player of the Year after a fantastic season with the Spanish giants.
The Frenchman won the prestigious award ahead of teammate Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Benzema topped the scoring charts last season in the Champions League with 15 goals.
The 34-year-old is the hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or award later this year.
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Benzema was instrumental last season as he played a key role as Madrid won LaLiga title this year, finishing 13 points ahead of Barcelona.
He has scored 35 times in 37 games as Carlo Ancelotti’s men lifted four trophies already in 2022.
The 34-year-old scored hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League knockout rounds and netted three times across the two legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.
He struck 44 times in 46 games altogether as Real also won the Spanish title.
Putellas, 28, claimed the prize for a second straight year despite suffering a serious knee injury that ruled her out of Euro 2022.
She finished ahead of England forward and European champion Beth Mead, the joint leading scorer at the tournament, and young Germany midfielder Lena Oberdorf.
In a related development, Carlo Ancelotti was announced in the ceremony as the best men’s coach for his success with Real, with Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman crowned best women’s coach after leading England to Euro glory on home soil last month.