Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema
Benzema with Real Madrid in 2021
Personal information
Full name Karim Mostafa Benzema[1]
Date of birth (1987-12-19) 19 December 1987 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Al-Ittihad
Number 9
Youth career
1993–1996 AS Des Buers Villeurbanne
1996–1997 Bron
1997–2005 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Lyon II 20 (15)
2004–2009 Lyon 112 (43)
2009–2023 Real Madrid 439 (238)
2023– Al-Ittihad 29 (17)
International career
2004 France U17 4 (1)
2004–2005 France U18 17 (14)
2005–2006 France U19 9 (5)
2006 France U21 5 (0)
2007–2022 France 97 (37)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
UEFA Nations League
Winner 2021 Italy Team
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2022 Qatar Team
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner 2004 France Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:05, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

Karim Mostafa Benzema (Arabic: كريم مصطفى بن زيما; born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. Regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, he is a creative forward known for his technical skills, vision and versatility on the field,[4][5][6] Benzema is Real Madrid's all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider.[7] He won 25 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga, three Copa del Rey, and five UEFA Champions League titles.[8] He has scored over 400 career goals for club and country.

Born in Lyon to parents of Algerian descent, Benzema began his career with hometown club Lyon in 2005, contributing sporadically to three Ligue 1 title wins. In 2008, he was named the league's Player of the Year and in the Team of the Year having finished as the league's top goalscorer and winning his fourth league title and first Coupe de France. In 2009, Benzema was the subject of a then-French record football transfer when he joined Real Madrid in a deal worth €35 million. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season, he eventually achieved a consistent goalscoring rate with the club, notably being part of a highly rated trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale — dubbed "BBC" — who were integral to four Champions League wins between 2014 and 2018.

Following Ronaldo's departure in 2018, Benzema transitioned from the false 9 position into a sole striker. He was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2023, won La Liga Best Player twice and the Pichichi Trophy for the first time in 2022. Benzema finished as Champions League top scorer as he won his fifth title in 2022, and subsequently captained the club in his final season before signing for Al-Ittihad the following year.

A French international, Benzema won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and made his senior debut for France in 2007, at age 19. After appearing at UEFA Euro 2008, Benzema was controversially left out of the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; following his return for Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, he did not play for France for over five years after being implicated in a blackmailing scandal in 2015. He later returned to the squad for Euro 2020, where he won the Bronze Boot. Benzema was also a part of the French squad that finished as runners-up at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not play at the tournament due to an injury, though he did receive a medal. He announced his international retirement in December 2022 following the World Cup. Overall, Benzema earned 97 caps and scored 37 goals, ranking as France's sixth-highest all-time top goalscorer, and was named French Player of the Year by France Football four times.

For his performances in 2021 and 2022, Benzema was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or, becoming the fifth French player to have won the Ballon d'Or.[9][10] One of the highest-paid footballers in the world, he made Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2024.[11]

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 20 de marzo de 2016, en Madrid" [Minutes of the Match held on 20 March 2016, in Madrid] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017: List of players: Real Madrid CF" (PDF). FIFA. 16 December 2017. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Real Madrid C.F. – Karim Benzema". Real Madrid C.F. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Ronaldo, Batistuta & the all-time best 'Number 9' strikers in football". Goal (website). 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  5. ^ "The 30 greatest strikers of all time". 90min.com. 25 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Where does Karim Benzema rank among the best French strikers of all time?". Therealchamps.com. 26 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Real Madrid Top Assists Of All Time [2022 List]". 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Benzema 2009 - 2023: 5 European Cups and the second top scorer in club history". Real Madrid CF.
  9. ^ à 10h30, Par Vincent Mongaillard Le 3 février 2023 (3 February 2023). "Dans le fief des Benzema et des Zidane en Kabylie, terre de Ballons d'or". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 5 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Karim Benzema sacré Ballon d'Or France Football 2022". L'Équipe (in French). 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  11. ^ Birnbaum, Justin. "The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2024". Forbes. Retrieved 27 June 2024.