Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has won the Onze d'Or.

On Friday, Benzema won the award, which names him as the best player playing in Europe in 2021, beating Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski to the prize, which is awarded by supporters and Onze Mundial.

"I've been waiting for a long time to return [to the national team]," Benzema told Onze Mundial upon receiving the award. "I've always worked and I've never given up.

"I really want to be with the French team, to train and to play matches because it's a team with a lot of talent. I want to play for them."

Now in his 30s, Benzema is playing arguably the best football of his career, which made him impossible for Didier Deschamps to overlook.

"I've been going up, up and up," Benzema said. "I don't like to say that I'm better at something than others, but I try to be inventive on the pitch."