Michael Essien has congratulated former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema for winning the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
On Monday, the French striker won the prestigious individual award for the first time after helping Real Madrid to emerge champions of Spain and Europe.
The 34-year-old impressively scored 44 goals in 46 matches and was the top scorer in both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
For his reward, he was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner ahead of Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Essien, who played with Benzema at Madrid under Jose Mourinho, took to social media to congratulate the Frenchman on his achievement.
“You deserve the Ballon d’Or. Congratulation Mon Karim Benzema,” the ex-Ghana international wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Benzema said winning the Ballon d’Or makes him proud, insisting he is proud of his career journey.
“This makes me really proud, all the work I did, I never gave up. I had two role models in my life, Zidane and Ronaldo as well,” he said.
“I always had this dream in my mind that everything’s possible. There was a difficult period where I wasn’t in the French team but I worked hard and never gave up, kept my head down and enjoyed playing football.”
The striker added: “I’m really proud of my journey here, it wasn’t easy, it was difficult, for me and my family. Age is just a number for me. People play until their later years now and I still have this burning desire.
“It is this drive that has kept me going and never allowed me to let up. It kept this dream alive and was the fire behind me. I just want to make the most of it.”
Benzema has become the oldest player to win the Ballon d’Or at the age of 34.
Source: Pulse.com.gh