The Ballon d’Or – on football’s night of all nights where the best player on the planet is crowned and bragging rights dished out, France and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema deservedly took home 2022’s big one.
In a Tupac inspired outfit that was a Fendi navy tuxedo accented by a badass flat bow, this drip won him best fit of the night too – and just when we thought he had the best watch game in the bag too, wearing a mad Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Winding Split-Seconds Chronograph that colour-matched his iconic award, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski came out and voided the Frenchman’s trifecta. What wrist wear could be more baller than KB's RM? A vintage gold Casio, no less.
Stepping up in Dolce&Gabbana to accept the newly created Gerd Muller award for being the most deadly striker in the world – he scored 50 goals in 46 games for Bayern Munich – the Polish striker flashed his trusty Casio in a move that will have brought a smile to everyone who had the same watch at school. The fact that Lewandowski has a deadly watch collection of his own – we're talking a handful of some nice Patek Nautilus pieces – means he must have known the audacity to rock a cult hero of a watch that costs £60 would win him some extra plaudits and hat tips. Fair play.
Elsewhere, despite Ballon d’Or mainstays Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi not being present – both love spending their millions on killer watches – the horology stakes were still high. When Benzema won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year back in August, he rocked a more refined stainless steel 40mm Patek Philippe Nautilus blue dial – so his RM proved that his credentials in watches weren’t a one hit wonder. A notable mention goes to Kylian Mbappé, who will surely on day follow in his countryman's footsteps to win the Ballon d’Or in years to come. As well as being the face of FIFA 2023 and widely regarded as the future of the sport, Mbappé is also the face of Hublot watches, who themselves are the official timekeepers of world football – namely the FIFA World Cup next month. Adding more sparkle to an already star-studded night in Paris surrounded by footballing royalty, Mbappé glammed up his black velvet peak lapel Dior tuxedo with a Big Bang Steel Diamonds 41mm. A suitably blinged-up version of Hublot’s most popular watch model, it's exactly what we’d hope to see from the PSG hitman.
Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s best player last season and the winning penalty taker to help Senegal to its first African Cup of Nations title, turned up looking fly in a kaftan that paid homage to his culture and African roots. As well as finishing runner-up to Benzema, he was the inaugural winner of ‘Socrates award’ for his admirable charity efforts and for developing infrastructure in his home country. He too brought a solid watch game, flexing a classic Rolex DateJust 41mm with a black dial and fluted bezel, which has been customised to read as Arabic.
And for the women’s Ballon d’Or, Alexia Putellas was a worthy winner, backing up her 2021 win with another dominant year as the women’s game continues to gain even more momentum after a groundbreaking Euro 2022. Having been presented her trophy by Chelsea FC legend Didier Drogba, Putellas raised it above her head to give her Hublot Classic Fusion King Gold Diamonds 38mm pride of place. All in all, a stellar night of watch spotting – and that's without even mentioning Bukayo Saka's Rolly on the PJ over, an Oystersteel and Everose gold “Root Beer” GMT-Master II. Perhaps we'll save that for a definitive ranking of England's biggest watch players?
