Real Madrid star criticises their Ballon d'Or ranking in frustrated interview

Thibaut Courtois finished in seventh place as France Football revealed the full rankings for the 2022 Ballon d’Or nominees on Monday night.

At a glitzy gala in Paris where Karim Benzema took home the main male prize, Courtois ultimately finished comfortably behind the lead contenders for the most revered individual prize in world football.

The Real Madrid shot-stopper had to sit behind Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe as his teammate took the applause.

However, it wasn't an entirely fruitless evening for Courtois as he was indeed named the year's best performing goalkeeper by way of winning the Yashin Trophy.

The 30-year-old followed in the footsteps of Alisson Becker and Gianluigi Donnarumma to become just the third recipient of the prize, which was inaugurated in 2019.

And the manner in which goalkeepers have been garlanded at Ballon d'Or ceremonies has long been discussed with Lev Yashin - the man after whom the new prize is named - enduring as the only shot-stopper to ever claim the main accolade.

Marry that to the fact that just a handful of defenders have won the Ballon d'Or, too, and there's good reason to believe that strikers are inordinately favoured in the voting process.

And that fact was clearly grinding the gears of Courtois in the 'City of Light' this week as he was keen to articulate his frustration at only finishing seventh when competing against more than just his fellow shot-stoppers.

According to a translation by the Daily Star, Courtois told the Spanish media on the red carpet: "I'm very happy for Karim Benzema. I'm not saying I would have won it, but I'm not even on the podium being the goalkeeper who won La Liga and the Champions League.

"It seems