Following his seventh-place result in the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has expressed his disappointment.
Very honored to win this trophy! I would like to share this moment with all of you and to thank you for your unconditional support and love! #HalaMadrid
Congratulations @karimbenzema 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/0VR49eiVGB
— Thibaut Courtois (@thibautcourtois) October 17, 2022
At the awards ceremony on Monday night, his Real teammate Karim Benzema won the top honor, followed by Sadio Mane, a former Liverpool attacker, and Kevin De Bruyne, a standout for Manchester City.
Benzema, who had long been the obvious favorite for the trophy after leading Los Blancos to the La Liga and Champions League crowns and finishing as the competition’s top scorer, was praised by Courtois following the awards ceremony.
What Did Courtois Say?
The Belgian international, however, was unimpressed with his final standing, which saw him come in seventh place. Behind the top three stated before as well as Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, and Kylian Mbappe.
He also took issue with Real finishing third in the Club of the Year prize behind City and Liverpool. “We all have a strange face with the City thing,” Courtois said.
“First of all, I am very happy for Karim Benzema. It seems that scoring a goal is better than stopping it. A battle that remains to be won.
“Seeing the logic and knowing how they vote, I knew that I would have no chance of winning it.
“I’m not saying I [should have] won it, but I’m not even on the podium being the goalkeeper who has won La Liga and the Champions League.”
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Courtois can feel somewhat hard done by, given the 30-year-old’s outstanding performances during the 2021/22 season that culminated in winning the Man of the Match award in the Champions League final.
Goalkeepers and defensive players in general are frequently underrepresented in Ballon d’Or voting. The only goalkeeper to have won the prize was the famous Lev Yashin in 1963.
The last goalie to place in the top three was Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich in 2014. Mike Maignan of AC Milan was the only other goalie to make the 30-man shortlist in 2022 except Courtois.
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