Karim Benzema & Alexia Putellas Win the Purnell Ballon d'Or™ Unique Pieces 2022

Théatre du Châtelet, Paris, 18 October 2022 – Last night as the atmosphere was thick with suspense, two legends were crowned once more and inducted in the Ballon d’Or^TM Hall of Fame and awarded each a Purnell x Ballon d’Or^TM Unique Piece: Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas.

This year marked the second for the brand as Official Partner of the prestigious Ballon d’Or^TM, a partnership that is rooted in both institutions valor for excellence and rewarding the best of the best—hyper horology meeting the art of the football.

This year showed Putellas winning back-to-back Ballon d’Or^TM and her second Purnell unique timepiece to go along with it—making her the first female football player to do so and an especially incredible feat after recovering from a knee injury earlier in the season. For Benzema, this award is his first Ballon d’Or^TM, after a meteoric rise and undeniable performances in the 2021-2022 season. It also makes him the first French player since his mentor’s, Zinedine Zidane, win in 1998.

An evening filled with Glamour

This 66^th edition of the Ballon d’Or^TM proved to be one of the most symbolic for sport in a long time. Both invited by Purnell, Friends of the Brand Marcell Jacobs, 100m Olympic Champion and European World Record Holder, joined the brand in a private salon alongside Andrea Bocelli, who later performed “Nessum Dorma” at the opening of the festivities.

It also proved to be a unifying event for football as a whole, as legends and past Ballon d’Or™ winners joined to celebrate the evening, including Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Shevchentko.