Ballon d'Or winners at a ceremony in Paris

Ballon d'Or winners at a ceremony in Paris
Ballon d'Or winners at a ceremony in Paris

France striker Karim Benzema won the Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in Paris, the reward coming after his stunning performances helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga last season.

Benzema, who also won the UEFA Nations League with France last season, pushed Bayern Munich and Senegal star Sadio Mane into second place.

Also Alexia Putellas won her second successive women's Ballon d'Or.

The reward for Putellas, 28, came after a season in which she was the top scorer as her club Barcelona reached the Champions League final.

The Barcelona midfielder was awarded the Kopa trophy at the annual ceremony in Paris as he was handed the award by team-mate and last year's winner, Pedri.

Gavi wins the Kopa Trophy - awarded to the best under-21 player on the planet - as the Barcelona midfielder is rewarded for his stunning start to life as a senior player at the Nou Camp and for Spain.

Robert Lewandowski received the award for last season's top goalscorer, renamed the Gerd Mueller Trophy, for the second straight year at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Sadio Mane has received France Football's inaugural Socrates Award, in recognition of his charity work in his native Senegal.

The Bayern Munich forward has built a public hospital and funded schools and families in his home village of Bambali in recent years, and also donated to the Senegalese National Committee to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.