France international Karim Benzema has admitted he did everything in his power this season with Real Madrid to become the most prominent candidate for the Ballon d’Or after helping the Spanish club reach the League final champions and beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris for the fourteenth title in its history.

He told Canal Plus after the match, when asked if he was considering the Ballon d’Or: “Of course… Now I’m going to join the national team, but I don’t think I can do better at club level. Let’s see what happens. Either way, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Referring to the remarkable “remontade” that Real Madrid achieved several times on the way to the final and became the first team to win the title despite three defeats in the playoffs: “There is no luck, you can get lucky once, but not every time. We deserved to win, we worked hard, we came back every time and never gave up.”

He continued, “We are a group and every player is important. Starters, substitutes who do not play, but give their all in training.

The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced on October 17 ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.