Karim Benzema will never be forgiven by some but the striker has paid his dues

Those who feel Karim Benzema was not a worthy winner of the 2022 Ballon d'Or are not limited to non-players. The shocking news is that his teammate and goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, is of the opinion that the gong should have gone to him instead. The stopper finds it impossible that he was not crowned the world's best player after the year he had.

“[Y]ou win the league. You play the Champions League final and your team wins it thanks to your saves, and you only end up seventh,” the keeper complained. Apparently he was in no mood to entertain how elusive the most coveted individual prize in football has been for the men in gloves. Just ask Manuel Neuer.

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You would be forgiven for thinking that the last line of Real Madrid's defence might be happy for the man on the other end of the pitch, who fired the team to European domination with 44 goals in 46 games, including two hat-tricks in the knockout stages of the Champions League against PSG and Chelsea.

Courtois's indifference to his captain's exploits mirrors the disdain of those who still have not forgiven the French forward for his mysterious role in a sex-tape scandal involving Mathieu Valbuena. The furore left the striker iced out of the French national team setup for six years, resulting in his missing out on a 2018 World Cup winner's medal.

Benzema has done the time for the crime

That was not punishment enough for some but the Madrid forward has paid his dues, as he acknowledged in his Ballon d'Or acceptance speech: “I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was difficult, for me and my family.” The prodigal striker will hope France can successfully defend their 2018 title in order to make up for the medal he missed out on during his exile.