MADRID, 5 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Frenchman Karim Benzema said goodbye to Real Madrid this Sunday in his last game wearing the white elastic, after 14 seasons as a merengue in which he has won 25 titles, the most successful, along with Marcelo, in the club’s history. A vintage player who exploded in the final stretch, after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and who managed to make the Santiago Bernabéu fall in love with his precious way of treating football.
A complicated start, a member of the lethal ‘BBC’, winner of five Champions League, juggler at the Vicente Calderón or protagonist of the most epic Champions League in recent years are some of the most relevant chapters of his career as a Real Madrid player.
1. Benzema fulfills his dream: he signs for Real Madrid.
After dazzling Florentino Pérez during his time in Lyon, Real Madrid went after the French striker in the summer of 2009, as part of the new galactic project together with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká. Benzema arrived at the Bernabéu at the age of 22 and as one of the great promises of European football. The ‘less striker’ fulfilled his dream “since he was a child”, ready to become a legend. “I’m happy to be able to play for the best club in the world,” he said in his presentation to some 20,000 people.
2. First goal as a Real Madrid player: September 20, 2009.
Benzema only needed three games to open his locker -which he has left at 354 goals, the second highest scorer in the club’s history-. He did it on September 20, 2009 against Xerez in the League, when Real Madrid gave the Andalusians a forceful ‘little hand’ at the Santiago Bernabéu.
3. His competition with Higuain: Mourinho, the dog and the cat.
After a somewhat disappointing first season, José Mourinho replaced Manuel Pellegrini on the white bench. And the Frenchman had strong competition in the Argentinean Higuaín during four seasons, which extended the debate at the Bernabéu about who should be the starter. That discussion reached its climax in December 2011, when the Setúbal coach assessed an injury to the Argentine as follows: “If you don’t have a dog to go hunting and you have a cat, you go with it.”
4. First title as a Real Madrid player: the 2011 Cup.
Mourinho’s Real Madrid, and therefore Benzema, lifted their first title on April 20, 2011, by proclaiming themselves champions of the Copa del Rey in the final against Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona. The whites managed to beat a Barça team that was far superior throughout the season and closed a course in style in which the French ‘nine’ scored 26 goals.
5. Van Basten style volley at El Sadar.
Already in 2011-2012, despite his intermittency, the French striker compiled numerous details of his high technical capacity. One of them was the great goal at El Sadar ‘a la Van Basten’ culminating a play by Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. After multiple bicycles from the Portuguese, the ‘nine’ finished off a cross to the far post at the first touch, sending the ball to the opposite squad after a beautiful parable.
6. Whistles at the Bernabéu and juggling at the Calderón.
In the 2016-2017 season, with Zidane on the bench, Benzema experienced one of his biggest drops in performance, with just one goal between October 23 and March 4. Some very poor numbers that did not convince a Bernabéu that came to whistle. But the Frenchman put an end to the discrepancies with a work of art at the Vicente Calderón on May 10, 2017. The ‘nine’ merengue ‘danced’ on the bottom line in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals to put a goal on a tray key and straighten your season.
7. Fourth Champions in a bad scoring season.
Forming a lethal trio with Cristiano and Bale, the famous ‘BBC’, Benzema lifted the three Champions League titles in a row (2016, 2017 and 2018) with Zidane, although his level in the last one was not as expected. The Frenchman only scored 12 goals in all competitions in 2017-2018, the second worst record for him with the Real Madrid shirt. But his final in the continental competition was outstanding, scoring a double against Bayern in the semifinals and also scoring in the final in Kiev against Liverpool, that remembered rascal goal against Karius that made it 1-0.
8. Without Cristiano, one step forward.
Cristiano’s departure in 2018 forced Benzema to take a step forward and take over the leadership that until then belonged to the Portuguese. The Frenchman largely filled the void left by the Portuguese, increasing his goalscoring ability significantly. The one from Lyon scored at least 30 goals in four of the five seasons of the post-Cristiano era, while he had only done so in one of the nine previous campaigns.
9. ‘The Great Captain’.
The farewell to Sergio Ramos in 2021 left the figure of the captain at Real Madrid free, a condition that Benzema accepted without fear, given that Marcelo, the next in line, hardly had a leading role. His work as a football and emotional leader was key last season, playing a total of 46 games.
10. Hero of the most epic Champions League, the fifth in his record.
In 2021-2022, with Ancelotti as coach, Benzema raised his level, scoring 44 goals -12 more than in his best season so far- in a course to remember. The Frenchman was key in the Champions League, the fifth of his record, with a hat-trick -he made 11 for the club- against PSG in the round of 16 to come back, four goals in the quarterfinals against Chelsea and three goals in the semifinals to Manchester City. A total display of hunger and football to raise the ‘Fourteenth’.
11. ‘Pichichi’ and top scorer in the Champions League.
Benzema finished 2021-2022 as top scorer in LaLiga Santander with 27 goals, a crucial contribution for his team to lift the domestic title. As he was also decisive at the continental level as the top scorer in the Champions League with 15 goals, only 2 behind the record of the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2013-2014 season, also with Real Madrid.
12. Ballon d’Or with merits.
These figures and exhibitions convinced the world of football so that the Frenchman received the prestigious Ballon d’Or, as the best player of the year and the culmination of a legendary season. Benzema entered the world football ‘Hall of Fame’, beating the ‘red’ Sadio Mané and the ‘citizen’ Kevin de Bruyne in the vote.
13. Last exhibition at the Camp Nou.
In 2022-2023, injuries and irregularities reduced Benzema’s performance. But he continued to appear at key moments, such as when his team needed to come back in the Copa del Rey semifinals at the Spotify Camp Nou. The Frenchman lived up to it and delighted with his last great display and an excellent hat-trick. It was the last Clásico for the Frenchman, who in 45 games against the Catalans has scored 16 goals and 11 assists.
14. The most successful of Real Madrid.
The performance in the Barça fief allowed Real Madrid to reach the Cup final against Osasuna. ‘KB9’ did not sign any goals in a rather discreet match, but he did lift his 25th title and the last one at the Merengue club, to become the most successful player in the club’s history, along with Marcelo.
15. Farewell to a legend.
Real Madrid announced this Sunday that Benzema was saying goodbye to the club after 14 seasons. A goodbye that hurts in Chamartín, where they see how a myth is gone. The striker has played a total of 648 games as a Real Madrid player -the player with the fifth most caps in Real Madrid’s history- and is the club’s second highest scorer with 354 goals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.