Karim Benzema, winner of this year's Ballon d'Or.

Karim Benzema has seen his hopes of winning a first World Cup dealt a bad omen as he was named winner of this year's Ballon d'Or.

The Frenchman was crowned the world's best footballer at the awards night on Monday night. He has enjoyed a remarkable year, leading Real Madrid to the La Liga and Champions League double as he scored 44 goals along the way.

His sights will be set on the World Cup, which will be controversially held in Qatar just a month from now. France go into the tournament as the reigning champions, though Benzema was not part of the squad that lifted the trophy in Russia four years ago.

And he could be forced to settle for finishing his career without having won the famous tournament, if history is not on his side. That is because no active holder of the Ballon d'Or has ever won the World Cup.

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