On this day in 2009, Karim Benzema was presented to the Real Madrid faithful. After moving from Lyon to the capital of Spain, the French youngster had a decent first season as a Blanco. Scoring 9 goals in 33 appearances with most of them coming off the bench. Since making his debut on the 29th August 2009, against Deportivo La Coruña, Karim won every possible trophy with Real Madrid and 17 in total as well as scoring 222 goals in 465 games.
Once Benzema got the number 9 in 2010, the Frenchman was continuously on the rise, scoring goals after goals and building one of the greatest partnerships in football together with Cristiano Ronaldo.
His best scoring season came in 2011/12 under Jose Mourinho where he scored 32 and assisted a further 19 goals in 51 appearances, as he helped to bring in LaLiga title number 32 to the Bernabéu.
With the departure of Gonzalo Higuain in 2013, Karim was undoubtedly Real Madrid’s first choice striker ever since. However, the last few years weren’t always easy for Benzema who hasn’t always been the killer in front of goal which he used to be. Scoring only 31 goals in 95 appearances from 2016-2018. Despite the lack of goals, Karim was vital for Real Madrid’s three Champions League trophies in a row, being the ideal partner for Cristiano Ronaldo.
But as all good things come to an end, so did the brilliant partnership between the Frenchman and the Portuguese. Cristiano decided to leave Real Madrid in 2018 to join Italy’s serial champion Juventus. For Real Madrid it turned out to be a huge loss, as the Merengues had one of their worst seasons in their history in 2018/19, but for Benzema it was a blessing. The striker enjoyed his second best ever scoring season for Real Madrid, finding the net 30 times and preventing Real Madrid from even more problems.
Now going into his 11th season at Real Madrid, the expectations are higher than ever following the previous season. It’s Benzema’s chance to confirm his place as Real Madrid’s main man in attack and show everyone that he is able to lead Real Madrid to trophies.
