Karim Benzema wants to win the Ballon d'Or, and his hat-trick against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final sees him continue to stake a claim in 2022 for the award for the world's best individual footballer, which he has yet to win.

Last season, he was on the Ballon d'Or shortlist, with Real Madrid heavily promoting his credentials in the run-up to and during the voting period. However, the Frenchman came in fourth place with 239 points, far behind Messi, who won his seventh trophy with 613 points. Second and third place went to Lewandowski (580 points) and Jorginho (460 points). That result was controversial, with Messi having had a poor season prior to leaving Barcelona for PSG, and Lewandowski widely regarded as a more deserving winner.

The Ballon d'Or was previously awarded based on a player's performances over a calendar year rather than a season, but the criteria for this edition has changed, and the award will now be based on performances throughout the entire 2021-22 season.

Benzema has been in excellent form in LaLiga, scoring 24 goals and assisting 11 in 26 games, and his Champions League campaign is also going well. He scored five goals in the Group Stage.

The reality is that performances in the Champions League's later stages are some of the most compelling statements a player can make in his bid to win France Football's prized trophy - Benzema's hat-trick against Chelsea is just such a statement, coming from two superb headers and a clever bit of pocket-picking as the Chelsea defense went into meltdown.

And it comes after the Real Madrid striker's 17-minute hat-trick in the second leg of the previous round against PSG, which stunned the French side, who were cruising at the time, and knocked them out, allowing Real Madrid to advance to the quarterfinals against Chelsea.

Benzema's domestic form, which includes five goals in the group stage and two hat-tricks in the Round of 16 and quarterfinal, is excellent, but it will not be enough to win the Ballon d'Or if things go wrong for Ancelotti's side and they fail to win trophies. Although the Ballon d'Or is an individual award, it is frequently given to the outstanding players in the teams that have won the year's major prizes. Real Madrid will have to finish the job against Chelsea in the Champions League if they are to reach the final and, better yet, win it, with Benzema continuing to play a role throughout the campaign if he is to be considered.

If that happens, Benzema can rest easy knowing that the World Cup in Qatar in November and December will not count towards this year's Ballon d'Or, but will instead be included in the 2023 award, meaning that a stellar performance in that tournament will have no bearing on who wins the 2022 trophy. If Benzema continues to score at this rate and Real Madrid continues to win, Benzema's chances will be very strong to win the golden prize.