Karim Benzema and Luka Modric are the Real Madrid players who have been named in the nomination shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d’Or award.
The two players from the club are the only ones to have earned a shout among their teammates and will look to make a name for this year’s ceremony.
It was surprising to see both players named in the shortlist especially after ending the year in question without a single trophy to their name.
For both Benzema and Modric, it could all be about hoping that luck falls on their side considering the fact that there is no clear favourite for this year’s award.
In their footballing career, only Modric has had the chance to win the award, beating both Cristiano and Lionel Messi to it during the 2018 edition. For the Croatia international, this becomes the fourth nomination for the award in his career.
Despite not scoring much, the 36-year-old has been instrumental for both Madrid and the Croatia national team and has played an instrumental part in the year, 2021.
Benzema on the other hand has had a brilliant individual 2021 which has seen him carry his team on many occasions. The player also resumed playing with the France national team this year after head coach Didier Deschamps thought it was vital to include him in his squad for European Championships some months ago.
In the year in question, the France international has been involved directly in 47 goals in 47 games across all competitions for both club and country – scoring 33 times and providing 14 assists during that time.
His nomination this year also means that Benzema has been shortlisted as a nominee for the 10th time in his career, the most of any French player in history.
It will be interesting to see if any of the two gets closer to winning the award in a Madrid shirt once again.
