Karim Benzema and Real Madrid, a romance in three acts

Real Madrid, and nothing else. When Karim Benzema, still a baby, outgrown Olympique Lyonnais in 2009, the Baby Gone only has one name in mind. It doesn’t matter that European football is at his feet: it will be Real Madrid. On July 1, 2009, this prophecy came true: Karim Benzema signed a six-year contract with Real, against 35 million euros.

Fourteen years later, the one who has become “KB9” or the “Nueve” leaves the white house through the very large door, the only one able to let through the 25 trophies he has gleaned in the Madrid capital, including five Leagues champions, and four Spanish championships. The club paid tribute to its French striker on Sunday June 4. When it comes to saying goodbye to the Frenchman, it is therefore to one of his legends that Real Madrid speaks. A status that KB9 has patiently conquered.

2009-2013: forced cohabitation

When he was presented in front of 15,000 people at the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium on July 1, 2009, Karim Benzema stepped forward in the wake of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two stars who had just been inducted into Real. From the top of his 22 years, the one who is still only a promise has everything to prove in an XXL locker room, especially alongside local legend, Raul, then top scorer for Real and the Champions League. However, it was another, more unexpected teammate who would slow down the Frenchman for four years: Gonzalo Higuain.

Whether under Manuel Pellegrini (2009-2010) or José Mourinho (2010-2013), Karim Benzema never gets rid of the competition from the Argentinian. If he shines during Higuain’s recovery periods, the former Lyonnais never really takes the upper hand over the latter, even when his performances demand it. Thus, for his third season at the club in 2011-2012, Benzema asserts himself with 32 goals in 52 games. What finally get rid of the Argentinian? Nay.

The following season, the alternation between the two numbers 9 continues. This does not prevent Karim Benzema from finishing, each time from 2010-2011, Real Madrid’s second top scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo. This period, marked by repeated failures in the Champions League, saw the Frenchman win a King’s Cup (2013), and a La Liga (2012), while Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona crushed the competition. The rain of trophies is however very close, while Karim Benzema eclipses, little by little, Gonzalo Higuain. So much so that the Argentinian decided to set sail for the summer of 2013. The start of a new era for Benzema, but also for Real Madrid.

2013-2018: a luxury lieutenant in the BBC

Four years after joining Real Madrid, the skies are finally clearing over Karim Benzema. Carlo Ancelotti, freshly arrived, made him an indisputable holder as soon as he took office. Surrounded by Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, he becomes the second B of the “BBC”. A trio which, in the 2013-2014 season alone, totaled 97 goals. On February 8, 2014, one of these achievements allowed Karim Benzema to equal his childhood idol, Ronaldo, with 104 goals for Real Madrid.

A big fan of the Brazilian since his childhood in Bron, the Frenchman then took full measure in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid won the 2012 Champions League, 12 years after their last one. If this coronation, and these years, inevitably bear the seal of Cristiano Ronaldo, then at the top of his game, it is also the case of Karim Benzema. The French striker, whose love of the beautiful game is no longer a secret, is then in the service of the Portuguese king. A sovereign who dubs his valiant knight whenever he can in public.

In October 2014, he even put on the captain’s armband for the first time. This status as a White House executive will be further reinforced from 2016, when Zinédine Zidane is called to the Real bench. Very quickly, ZZ and KB9 forged a special relationship. Cristiano Ronaldo is still blazing, and Real Madrid adds three new (consecutive) Champions League to its list (2016, 2017, 2018). On May 26, 2018, against Liverpool, Karim Benzema became the first Habs to score in the final since a certain… Zinédine Zidane, in 2002, with Real Madrid. Quite a symbol for the student, who then surpasses the master at the level of the stacked trophies.

2018-2023: the boss of the White House

Nine years and sixteen trophies after his arrival in Castile, Karim Benzema has no idea that the best is yet to come, for him, individually. The summer of 2018 indeed marked a major turning point: Cristiano Ronaldo, who arrived a few days before him, left Madrid for Juventus Turin. Another survivor of the BBC, Gareth Bale then shines more on the lawns of golf than football. The new White House boss is Karim Benzema. If the first post-CR7 season is not conclusive, the rise of the French is undeniable. The proof is: he becomes the first player to score 8 consecutive goals for the club.

Elected best player in La Liga in 2020 and 2021, he becomes the best passer in the history of Real Madrid in 2021. Proof that the New is more than a terrific goalscorer. His XXL performances also push Didier Deschamps to recall him by surprise to the French team for Euro 2021. The following season will be the masterpiece of the Lyonnais. The one that will lead him to an indisputable Ballon d’Or 2022, making him the fifth Frenchman to know such a distinction, after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin and Zinédine Zidane.

In 2021-2022, Karim Benzema, sharper than ever, is unstoppable, like his 47 goals scored in the 2021 calendar year. that of 2022, the French sign above all an anthology Champions League, with 15 goals in 12 games, rewarded with a fifth continental coronation against Liverpool, at the Stade de France. This extraordinary season leaves its mark and, at 34, his body lets go of him a few days before the 2022 World Cup. A package from which Benzema will never really recover, despite an honorable last season at Real, with 30 goals in 42 games.