While Real Madrid fights back to get to the Champions League final, Karim Benzema will be in action against Manchester City. Benzema has been a tremendous force for Real Madrid for nearly a decade and is widely regarded as one of the best attackers of his time. The France international has also shown no indications of slowing down any time soon, focusing solely on improving his club and country's performances.
Benzema has almost 300 goals for Real Madrid, including 11 goals and 10 assists in 41 El Clasico appearances.
Benzema recently saved his team from a potentially unrecoverable situation in the first-leg semi-final against Manchester City, scoring in the 33rd minute and a penalty in the 82nd minute — the first leg ended 4-3 in Pep Guardiola's favour. After coming on as a late substitution in the second half, he scored in his team's La Liga victory over Espanyol on Saturday, April 30.
His dedication to club and country prompted Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail to speculate that "Manchester City fans would have booked their flights to Paris long ago if Karim Benzema hadn't played for Real Madrid."
Benzema was born in Lyon, France, and began his career with Bron before joining Lyon in 1997. Before making his senior debut against Metz in 2005, he was a member of Lyon's youth and B teams. He subsequently signed his first three-year professional contract after setting up Lyon's second goal.
Benzema scored 43 goals in 112 club games for Lyon, and once his contract was renewed in 2008, he became one of France's highest-paid footballers. He won the Ligue 1 top scorer title, the French Cup top scorer award, many Player of the Month honours, the Peace Cup Best Player award, and the Peace Cup Bronze Boot medal during his stint with Lyon.
In 2009, it was reported that Benzema had been sold to Real Madrid for €35 million, with the price rising to €41 million owing to incentives.
In Real Madrid's 1-0 triumph over Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, the kid made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut.
With 22 goals this season, Benzema is the top scorer in La Liga. He also has the most assists (11) in the league and was recently named Madrid's third-highest striker of all time after scoring 41 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions this season.
Benzema has already overtaken former club legend and manager Alfredo Di Stefano's record of 308 goals and is closing in on Raul for second place.
Many fans were worried when Cristiano Ronaldo departed the team, but Benzema has flourished and has established himself as a constant for Carlo Ancelotti. Benzema signed a contract extension with Real Madrid in August 2021, extending his stay at the club until at least 2023.
Benzema is the highest scorer in the Champions League this season, with 14 goals for his club as of Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022.
Benzema has 85 goals in the Champions League, which puts him fourth all-time behind Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (86).
The 34-year-old has had his share of controversies, most recently with fellow Frenchman Mathieu Valbueana.
Benzema was arrested by French authorities in 2015 for his suspected role in the incident, and he was recently convicted guilty of plotting to extort his former international teammate on November 24, 2021.
In 2006, after speaking about his prospective selection for the Algerian national team, the France international garnered criticism. Benzema, whose parents are both Algerians, told RMC that despite having Algeria in his heart and his parents' homeland, he would prefer to play for France since it was a better career opportunity.
Karim Benzema will play the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League tie against Manchester City at the Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
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