SOCCER

Thibaut Courtois explodes despite winning Yashin Trophy

The Real Madrid goalkeeper complained about not being in the Ballon d’Or top 3 despite having won La Liga and the Champions League.

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Thibaut Courtois did not end the evening in Paris as expected. The Real Madrid goalkeeper complained about not being on the podium for the 2022 Ballon d’Or despite having won LaLiga and the Champions League.

Happy for Ballon d’Or Benzema

“The first thing I want to say is that I am very happy for Karim Benzema. It seems that it’s worth more to score a goal than to save it. This is a battle that remains to be won. Seeing the logic of how they vote, I knew I wouldn’t have a chance of finishing very high up, nor winning it, of course,” the Belgian told El Larguero.

“I’m not saying win it... but you win LaLiga and you win the Champions League, your team wins thanks to your saves... and you only finish seventh. You’re not even on the podium. There wasn’t even a defender in the top 10. At least this year they’ve invented the best goalkeeper trophy,” he added.

Courtois seventh in Ballon d’Or

Courtois came seventh in the final Ballon d’Or vote, which was won by his team-mate Benzema. Ahead of the Belgian was Sadio Mané, Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski, Mo Salah and Kylian Mbappé as well as Benzema.

The Madrid goalkeeper took to the stage to collect the Yashin Trophy, as he was named the goalkeeper of the season.

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