“No, Not Yet”... Karim Benzema On If Cristiano Ronaldo Has Congratulated Him On His Ballon d'Or Win.

Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema, has revealed that Manchester United forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, is yet to congratulate him for winning the 2022 Ballon d’Or.

Benzema who won the award in October, became the first Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, following impressive performances including series of hat-tricks in the Champions League which led to Real Madrid’s 14th title in the competition.

The 34-year-old emerged winner of the coveted prize ahead of Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

He also becomes only the second player aside from Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to do so since 2018. Ronaldo meanwhile finished in 20th after a not so good year with Man United.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has won the esteemed individual award a staggering five times.

Benzema and Ronaldo were not just former teammates, but close pair at Real Madrid, a period the Los Blancos dominated both the domestic and European competitions.

Both players formed a part of Real's stunning attack that helped the club win four Champions League in five seasons.

Ronaldo had scored 450 goals and provided 120 assists during his time in Madrid, before the Portugal captain left for Juventus in 2018.

Benzema is now the club’s second highest goalscorer 329 goals.

When asked if Ronaldo had sent him a message of congratulation following his Ballon d’ Or win, Benzema told French outlet Telefoot, “No, not yet”. It will be a month next week since the award was being given.

According to reports, the relationship between the pair are unclear although there are suggestions they are no longer the pals they once were at the Bernabeu.

“I always believed in myself, I knew that at some point or another, with my qualities and my ambitions, I could win it... Benzema added.

“That’s why the last four years, I pushed, pushed again to get that trophy.”

Benzema credited Ronaldo's exit with helping him win the Ballon d'Or after stepping out of the shadow of his former teammate.

The France striker said: "It was an honour to play with him. The day he left, the ambition to be a better player then entered my head. Since he left, I've been motivated to do more things on the pitch."

Both Benzema and Ronaldo are set to represent their country at the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Ahead of his link up with the France squad next week, Benzema was eager to play down any talk of pressure as Les Bleus go in defence of their World Cup crown.

"I'm proud to play in this World Cup," Benzema said. 

"We know what it means. I can't wait for it to start.  To be able to show what we can do in front of millions of people. To represent France. 

"Inevitably, we think about a third world cup triumph. But I don't tell myself that I have to win it, because I don't play alone. We are a group and every match is a final. And the closer we get to it, the more we will say to ourselves that we have to win. 

"On paper, we are the best and we should not hide it. But football is 11 against 11, but we will have to take our opponents with ambition and respect.''