‘He’s the top contender’: Bhaichung Bhutia says CL final result won’t impact star forward’s bid for Ballon d’Or

Real Madrid will be aiming to finish the season with a double of La Liga and the Champions League when they take on Liverpool in the final of the continental tournament on May 29 (12:30 AM IST). Carlo Ancelotti’s men have enjoyed a stellar run in the Champions League, beating the likes of Paris Saint-Germain (round-of-16), Chelsea (quarterfinals), and Manchester City (semi-finals) en route to the final of the season. In their previous tie against Pep Guardiola’s City, Real Madrid trailed 3-4 in the first leg before making an incredible comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu, beating the side 3-1 on the return leg.

Many people have touted Real Madrid as being ‘lucky’ in this season, but former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia believes that credit must also be given to Carlo Ancelotti for steering the side to its first final since the 2017/18 season, when they last lifted the coveted title. 

During an interaction with select journalists ahead of the Champions League final in Paris, Bhutia insisted that it would be unfair to only credit ‘luck’ as the reason for Real’s run, as they also lifted the La Liga title earlier in the season.

“If you look at their league performance, they have won the Spanish league. That, in itself, shows that Ancelotti has played a major role this year in reviving Real Madrid,” Bhutia replied to a question from Hindustan Times. 

“In Champions League, sometimes good teams do go out in the knock-out stage. I was hoping Man City would go into the finals, but in a knock-out, it sometimes doesn’t happen. But Real Madrid have won the Spanish league, and they are in the final, and that shows that the team has a good mixture of youth and experience. When you are in league matches, only the best teams win. When you are in a knock-out, sometimes, best teams do have a bad day.

“Real Madrid have been lucky but it hasn’t been entirely luck. The team has been of good quality; they have come back strong against City and I would say there was a bit of luck, but this team has got experience with a great experience in Ancelotti, and they have got a great bunch of young players. They have a great combination of youth and experience and that bodes them really well.”

Benzema has done enough to win Ballon d’Or

The former India football captain believes Karim Benzema, the leading Real Madrid forward who has scored 44 goals for Real Madrid across all competitions this year, has done enough to win his maiden Ballon d’Or title. The 34-year-old striker has scored 15 goals in 11 Champions League appearances for the Los Blancos so far.

“Till now, I think he has done enough. But it depends on whether they will include the World Cup which is happening in November-December. It also would depend on that. So far, till now, it’s hands down that he is going to win it,” Bhutia said.

“Even if they lose, he is going to be the top contender. But he and the French team will have to perform well in the World Cup as well. If somebody is going to single-handedly win the World Cup alone, it would get difficult. But right now, he has a great chance for winning it,” the former India footballer said further.

Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Final – Liverpool vs Real Madrid LIVE on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 29th May 2022, at 12:30 am IST.