Real Madrid News
Karim Benzema backed to win the Ballon d’Or by Barcelona superstar
On 17th October 2022, the world of football will finally know the next official winner of the prestigious Ballon d’Or. The award will be presented by France Football in Paris, and local hero and Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema is the favourite to walk away with the honour.
There seems to be little debate over the Frenchman’s claim for the award as he seems set to win it by a record margin. Unsurprisingly, several pundits have placed their money on Benzema with there being no direct competitor.
In a recent clip on Movistar via Samuel Marsden, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski was seen giving his two cents on this year’s Ballon d’Or and cheekily mentioned the condition on which Benzema would win it.
“Benzema is probably one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or, if they don’t cancel it, then probably he will win it, yes.”
The Pole’s statement comes in light of his missed chance with the individual award two years ago. Lewandowski was the undisputed favourite to win the award in 2020 but France Football cancelled the award owing to the COVID pandemic.
Lionel Messi’s Copa America triumph saw him walk away with the award in 2021 and the Barcelona striker had to settle for second place despite having a record-breaking season again at his former club Bayern Munich.
Benzema and Lewandowski will face off against each other in the weekend’s Clasico as Barcelona and Real Madrid fight it out for the top spot on the league standings. Both teams currently sit on level points and will fight tooth and nail to steal three points from their arch-rivals’ camp.
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
