The Ballon d’Or is the greatest individual achievement for any player in the world. That magnificent trophy, the Golden Ball delivered by the prestigious French magazine, France Football, seems to be rewarding enough after a full year of sacrifices and effort to become the best on the planet. Still, as in any ceremony, there’s always something more.
In the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony, Karim Benzema might get his first trophy ever and, as a consequence, a possible huge paycheck. Right now, Real Madrid’s superstar earns in his contract $691kper month, $173kper week, $25kper day and $1041per hour. Just imagine what would happen if he notches the Best Player in the World award.
Considering this scenario, a great trophy must come with a great prize money or so they say. In this article you will find the answer to one of the biggest questions around the ceremony. How much money is there for the winner of the Ballon d’Or? Let’s checkout the details.
How much is a player paid for winning the Ballon d’Or?
The first thing you need to know is that there is no official information regarding a possible money prize for winning the Ballon d’Or. In the last years, there’s been some rumours inside the organization, but, France Football has never released a statement (neither FIFA when they were in charge too).
So, let’s get into the possible numbers. While you might think the Ballon d’Or trophy comes with a lot of cash, that’s certainly not the case. Although some people have said during the years that there’s a $20k paycheck, that’s totally false. The tradition states that the huge prestige of the award is more than enough for the winner.
Still, while there is no paycheck, we have to consider the sponsorships. That’s the big deal with the Ballon d’Or!!! Many soccer insiders have reported that, for example, Luka Modric took home $800k from Nike after winning the trophy in 2018. Also, Cristiano Ronaldo might have gotten $4 million as a bonus as part of his 2016-2026 deal with the brand after each time he was crowned as The Best Player in the World. It was a special clause in his full $162 million contract with Nike. So, if your name is Karim Benzema, you might actually get pretty excited of what could be coming into your bank account.
