Ballon d'Or 2022: This is Karim Benzema's year

Football pundits are convinced that 2022 will likely be Karim Benzema's year to finally win the prestigious Ballon d'Or trophy. He is having a phenomenal season with Real Madrid, and the clamour for him to win the prize is starting to grow even if the awarding itself is still several months away.

Real Madrid need to score only just a single point from their remaining five games to claim the La Liga Santander title. This seems inevitable, and a league title coupled with the Spanish Super Cup will give Benzema a lot of leverage when it comes to the Ballon d'Or selection. On top of that, even if Real Madrid does not eventually win the UEFA Champions League, which they still can, the Frenchman has recorded some of his most outstanding performances to date in the competition.

He rescued Los Blancos straight from the dead with a hat-trick in the second leg of their last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. In the quarter-finals, Benzema's first leg hat-trick gave Los Blancos enough cushion to advance on aggregate even after Chelsea fought back hard to win the second leg.

On Tuesday, Manchester City dominated the first leg of the semi-final tie against Real Madrid, scoring four goals. However, Benzema helped keep the opponents within striking distance by scoring two goals on top of another by Vinicius Jr.

All eyes will be on Benzema when the second leg is played at the Santiago Bernabeu next week, and if he manages to lead the comeback once more, there will be no doubt that he will be head and shoulders above the other Ballon d'Or contenders.

Benzema has now scored 46 goals and 14 assists in 48 games in all competitions this season. Whenever he is sidelined, Real Madrid are visibly rattled as if they are missing their right leg. The prolific striker is currently the top scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League, and it appears like it will stay that way until the end of the season.

The 34-year-old has always been considered as one of the best, but he has really come into his own since finding his time in the spotlight when Cristiano Ronaldo left Madrid. Many were disappointed that he missed out on the prize last season, but it seems as though he is having an even a better campaign this year.

Apart from club football, Benzema also played a key role in France's Nations League title. It remains to be seen how he will fare in the upcoming FIFA World Cup finals. However, the Ballon d'Or will be decided way before then.