Zinedine Zidane believes Karim Benzema and the rest of Real Madrid’s squad all deserve to be awarded this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Benzema has been the focal point of Zidane’s side, providing 19 goals in 35 LaLiga appearances this season.

Thanks to his efforts, Madrid can claim their first LaLiga title since 2017 if they win against Villarreal on Thursday or Barcelona fail to beat Osasuna.

Benzema has been named as a frontrunner for this year’s Ballon d’Or after his remarkable efforts in the Spanish top-flight, though his manager believes he is only one of the many that deserve the award.

‘In football, everyone can have a say. For me, my players are the best,’ the Madrid boss said.

‘Karim is not only this year, he has done very well for many years. The Ballon d’Or is won by only one, and everyone can comment, but for me all my players deserve it.’

As it stands, Real Madrid are four points clear of Barcelona and only need two points from their final two matches of the season to claim their 34th domestic crown.

Should Zidane’s men beat Villarreal on Thursday, they will pick up their first LaLiga title since 2017.

Zidane credits the football hiatus for sparking a hunger in his team and claims there is no complacency in his side despite closing in on the title.

‘No, not at all,’ Zidane said when asked if his side already felt like champions.

‘The beautiful thing we have is the energy we put in every day, day by day is what motivates us. The rest, we don’t know what will happen.

‘The players when they get here know the history of this club, what it is, what it wants, the ambition we always have.

‘The particular thing about now is that after the confinement, when we returned to work, after staying home almost three months, the players wanted to do great things.

‘You could see it in training. You could see it in games, but I see them in training, they trained phenomenally, they wanted to stay afterwards and that tells you everything.’

Though his side requires only two more points, due to their head-to-head record with Barca this term, Zidane is demanding victory against Villarreal.

‘I would not want two draws. It is not what I prefer or not, it is that we are here for one thing, to think about tomorrow’s game and win it,’ he added.

‘It is what motivates us. We prepare for that. Villarreal knows how to play, it is a very difficult opponent, as always. I think it will be the most difficult of the last ones we have had.’

source:- allfootballapp