Karim Benzema Leaves Real Madrid – Assessing the Frenchman’s Impact in Spain

07/06/23 860

Following Karim Benzema’s final game for Real Madrid, we look back at the prolific striker’s glittering career in the famous white jersey.

When Benzema joined Real Madrid from Lyon back in 2009, very few could have predicted that he would go on to become Los Blancos’ all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider.

648 games, 354 goals and 165 assists later, Benzema leaves Real Madrid after 14 hugely successful years in the Spanish capital, having won countless trophies and awards along the way.

The Frenchman helped Los Blancos win five UEFA Champions Leagues, five FIFA Club World Cups and four La Liga titles. He also won four UEFA Super Cups, three Copa del Rey titles and three Supercopa de Espana trophies.

On top of that, Benzema won the supporters’ Real Madrid Player of the Season Award on four occasions. He also scooped the Ballon d’Or in 2022, in addition to the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award and La Liga Player of the Season.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominating the La Liga Golden Boot between 2009-10 and 2021-21, Benzema’s first and only Pichichi Trophy came in 2021-21, when he scored 27 goals in 32 league outings.

Still, the relentless striker scored goals at a freakish rate throughout his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, netting 15+ La Liga goals in 10 of his 14 seasons at Real Madrid, despite living in Ronaldo’s shadow for much of that time.

Having chalked up a combined total of 519 goals and assists, Benzema averaged 0.8 goal involvements per game for Los Blancos. Only Ronaldo has scored more Real Madrid goals, while no player has recorded more assists.

The 35-year-old scored 238 goals in 439 La Liga appearances, meaning he averaged 0.54 goals per game in the league. In the Champions League, he netted 78 goals in 133 outings, averaging 0.57 goals per game in Europe.

Benzema has signed a three-year deal to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, which will see him come up against Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League, with the deal reported to be worth around £86 million per season.

At the end of the day, few would argue that Benzema is not one of the greatest strikers of all time. Even at the age of 35, the prolific Frenchman looks destined enhance his scoring record in Saudi Arabia.