Benzema Karim
Karim Mostafa Benzema is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for the France national team. A creative and prolific forward known for his playmaking and finishing, Benzema is often regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. He ranks as Real Madrid’s all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider. Born in Lyon to Algerian parents, Benzema began his senior career with hometown club Olympique Lyonnais 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 signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth €35 million. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season, he eventually achieved a consistent goalscoring rate with the club, and notably went on to be part of a highly rated trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale — dubbed BBC — who were integral to a period where Real Madrid won four UEFA Champions League titles from 2014 to 2018. Following Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, Benzema transitioned from the false 9 position into a sole striker. His prominence in Real Madrid’s squad significantly increased, with him being named in the La Liga Team of the Season in 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22, awarded the league’s Best Player in 2019–20 and 2021–22, and also winning the Pichichi Trophy in 2021–22. Captaining the team, his notable career-high performances during Real Madrid’s victory in the 2021–22 Champions League have been hailed as one of the finest individual campaigns in the competition’s history, in addition to becoming the top scorer and winning the Player of the Season award. Benzema has won 23 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga, two Copa del Rey, and five Champions League titles. A French international, Benzema won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and made his senior debut for France in 2007, at age 19. He has since earned over 90 caps, including scoring in three and appearing in four major tournaments: the 2008, 2012 and 2020 editions of the UEFA European Championship, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first goal in a friendly against Austria, and ranks as his nation’s fifth-highest all-time top goalscorer. Benzema was controversially left out of the squad for the 2010 World Cup, and did not play for France for over five years after being implicated in a scandal in 2015; he returned to the squad for Euro 2020. He has been named French Player of the Year by France Football four times.
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A skillful, quick, agile, and prolific forward, who is good in the air, Benzema has been described as an “immensely talented striker” who is “strong and powerful” and “a potent finisher from inside the box” with both feet, despite being naturally right footed. An atypical number 9, although he is usually deployed as a centre-forward, Benzema is also capable of playing in several other offensive positions, and has been used on the wing, or even behind the main striker. In addition to his goalscoring, Benzema is indeed known for his willingness and ability to drop into deeper or wider positions, and either link-up play with midfielders as a number 10, or use his strength and technical ability to hold up the ball to provide assists for teammates, courtesy of his vision, creativity, passing, and eye for the final ball. He has also been praised for his work-rate and tactical intelligence off the ball, as well as his attacking movement as a forward, which often draws opposition defenders out of position, and in turn creates spaces for Cristiano Ronaldo to make attacking runs into the centre of the area from the left wing.
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Karim Mostafa Benzema is a French professional footballer who plays for France national team as a striker. He has been described as an “immensely talented striker” who is “strong and powerful” and “a potent finisher from inside the box”. Benzema was born in the city of Lyon and began his football career with local club Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city, Olympique Lyonnais, and subsequently came through the club’s youth academy. Benzema made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span. In the 2007–08 season, Benzema became a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Player of the Year and named to the organization’s Team of the Year. Benzema was also the league’s top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo. After another season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema moved to Real Madrid in a transfer fee worth over €35 million ($50 million), and signed a six-year contract. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the ensuing two seasons, Benzema reached prominence, scoring 32 goals en route to helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey in 2011 and the 2011–12 edition of La Liga. He has been named French Player of the Year three times for his performances in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Benzema made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria, scoring in a 1–0 win. Benzema has earned over 80 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments: the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, Benzema has twice been intentionally left off major tournament squads (2010 World Cup and Euro 2016) due to various scandals.
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Benzema was born in Lyon to French nationals of Algerian descent. His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tigzirt, located in the northern town of Aït Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s. Benzema’s father, Hafid, was born in Tigzirt, while his mother, Wahida Djebbara, was born and raised in Lyon; her family originated from Oran. Benzema is the third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb of Lyon.[334] His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri are also footballers. The former plays at the amateur level with Vaulx-le-Velin in the Division d’Honneur, the sixth division of French football, while the latter plays in the youth academy of a club in the family’s hometown of Bron. On 3 February 2014, his then-girlfriend Chloé de Launay gave birth to their daughter Mélia in Madrid. On 5 May 2017, his girlfriend Cora Gauthier gave birth to their son Ibrahim. A practicing Muslim, Benzema observes fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.[340] He has spoken about his faith saying: “My faith helps me to be focused every day. It brings me benefits and it’s my strength for me, my family, as well as for my work – for literally everything.” Since evolving internationally, Benzema has participated in numerous advertising campaigns. He was chosen as an ambassador of the American video game publisher Electronic Arts for the FIFA series. He has signed several sponsorship contracts, notably with the Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai, the French telephone operator SFR and its subsidiary BuzzMobile, the French bank LCL and the sports betting company bwin. Benzema is sponsored by Adidas. In 2017, his documentary film Le K Benzema was released. In 2020, Benzema started his own YouTube channel, uploading videos of his everyday life, as well as interviews and fan Q&As. On 6 December 2006, he told RMC about his possible selection for the Algerian team: “It’s my parents’ country, it’s in my heart. But good after sporting, it’s true that I will play in French team. I will be always present for the French team. Then it’s more for the sporting side, because Algeria is my country, here, my parents come from there. After, France … It’s more sporty, that’s it.” Benzema drew some criticism for these comments, as well as for his reluctance to sing the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”, before each match with the national team. On 18 April 2010, French television channel M6 reported that four members of the French national team were being investigated for their roles as clients in a prostitute ring operated inside of a Paris nightclub, with some of the women possibly being underage. The players were eventually revealed to be Franck Ribéry, Sidney Govou, Hatem Ben Arfa and Benzema. Benzema was alleged to have had a sexual rendezvous with a prostitute when she was 16 years of age, an act Benzema denied through his lawyer. On 20 July, Benzema was questioned by Paris police and indicted on the charge of “solicitation of a minor prostitute”. In November 2011, prosecutors asked for the cases against Ribéry and Benzema to be dropped, saying that the players were not aware that the escort, identified as Zahia Dehar, was 16 years old. However, the case did go on to trial. In January 2014, the judge in the case dropped the charges against both Ribery and Benzema saying there was lack of sufficient evidence that the pair knew the prostitutes were underaged. On 4 November 2015, Benzema was arrested by French police for his alleged part in blackmailing fellow France international player Mathieu Valbuena over the alleged recording of a sex-tape on a mobile phone. During the investigation over the blackmail plot, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stated, “A great athlete should be exemplary. If he is not, he has no place in the France team. There are so many kids, so many youngsters in our suburbs that relate to great athletes. They wear the blue jersey, the colours of France, which are so important in these moments.” On 10 December 2015, the president of the FFF Noël Le Graët announced the provisional suspension of the striker from the French team until a new development in the affair. On 17 February 2016, the judicial review was lifted by the investigating judge who allowed Benzema to get in touch again with Valbuena. On 11 July 2017, the Court of Cassation issued a judgment in which it invalidated a decision of the Court of Appeal of Versailles, which had validated the procedure by which Benzema had been indicted for complicity of attempted blackmail. This decision was made on the basis of contesting the legality of the phone calls recording by the police, and the judgement did not disprove the veracity of the blackmail attempt on Valbuena by Benzema. On 7 January 2021, the public prosecutor’s office in Versailles announced that Benzema would face trial for his alleged involvement in the blackmail attempt. On 24 November 2021, Benzema was found guilty of conspiring to blackmail Valbuena with a sex tape. The judge gave him a one-year suspended sentence and fined him €75,000. His lawyers said they will appeal his conviction. He will be definitively sentenced in this case in June 2022, after having abandoned the appeal procedure. In March 2020, during an Instagram livestream with YouTuber Mohamed Henni, Benzema made controversial remarks about French player Olivier Giroud, who replaced Benzema in the France national team. He called Giroud “karting” while he referred to himself as “Formula 1”.
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These boots were issued for Karim Benzema for the Fifa World Cup “Brazil 2014″Qualifying game between France and Belarus which took place in Saint-Denis, “Stade of France”, on September 11th 2012. These boots have match details on side which is pretty uncommon. Indeed while it’s very easy to see match details on shirts, it is not really common to see them on boots. Benzema was called up for the first time to the senior national team by Raymond Domenech on 9 November 2006 for the team’s friendly match against Greece that would be played on 15 November. Benzema described the call-up as “a reward”, while also stating “I am pleased, of course, me and my family. A (the senior national team), is the national team’s highest honor”. Two days before the match, he was forced to withdraw from the team due to a thigh injury, which he suffered while playing domestically for Lyon. After failing to make the squad for the team’s February 2007 match against Argentina, Benzema returned to the team in March for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania and a friendly against Austria. After failing to appear in the qualifier, he made his international debut on 28 March 2007 against Austria. Benzema appeared as a half-time substitute for Djibril Cissé and scored the only goal of the match after a free-kick from Samir Nasri. On 13 October, Benzema scored a double in a 6–0 win against the Faroe Islands.[263] After appearing regularly in the team for the rest of the 2007–08 season, he was named to the 23-man squad to participate in UEFA Euro 2008.
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With the departure of Sergio Ramos to PSG, Benzema was promoted as Real Madrid’s vice-captain for the 2021–22 season under Ancelotti. On 14 August, Benzema scored a brace against Alaves as Los Blancos kicked off the league season with a 1–4 away win to sit at the top of the table. Benzema’s first half volley was the first official goal under Ancelotti in his second stint. Six days later, Benzema signed a contract extension with Real Madrid, keeping him at the club until 2023. Benzema scored his first hat-trick in three seasons in a 5–2 win over Celta Vigo on 12 September as Madrid returned to the Bernabeu for the first time since March 2020. Wearing the armband, Benzema was the first Madrid captain to score a hat-trick since Raul in 2008. One week later, Benzema and Vini Jr would combine twice in the last few minutes against Valencia at the Mestalla to complete a comeback to earn Madrid their first win at the Mestalla in four seasons. On 22 September, Benzema scored a brace and provided another two assists in a 6–1 win over Mallorca at the Bernabeu. Benzema’s brace allowed him to become only the fourth Madrid player in history to score 200 La Liga goals after Di Stefano, Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo. On 28 September, Benzema became the first the player in history to score in 17 consecutive Champions League seasons after scoring his first penalty in the competition in a 1–2 home loss against Sheriff in the group stage. On 22 October, Benzema scored Madrid’s 1000th Champions League goal at the Bernabéu against Shakhtar Donetsk. In the process, Benzema scored his 291st and 292nd goals for the club, making him their fourth highest all-time top scorer, overtaking Santillana. With his goal against Sevilla in La Liga on 28 November, he became the highest French goalscorer in club football matches, overtaking Thierry Henry. On 8 January, Benzema scored his 300th goal for Madrid, converting a penalty in a 4–1 win at home in La Liga against Valencia. On 9 March, he scored a hat-trick within 17 minutes in a remarkable comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16. At the age of 34, Benzema became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League. With the three goals, Benzema brought his tally to 309, overtaking Alfredo Di Stéfano as Real Madrid’s third-highest all-time goalscorer. On 14 March, Benzema scored a brace in a La Liga match against Mallorca and broke Henry’s record, becoming all-time top French goalscorer with 413 goals. On 6 April, he scored another hat-trick in the Champions League in a 3–1 away win over Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Benzema became only the second player (after Cristiano Ronaldo) to score back-to-back hat-tricks in successive Champions League knockout matches. One week later in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, Benzema scored a 96th minute header in extra time which proved pivotal, as Madrid lost to Chelsea 2–3 on the night but qualified for the semi-finals 5–4 on aggregate. Benzema, Marcelo Vieira (left) and Carlos Osoro Sierra (right) with the Champions League trophy in 2022. On 30 April 2022, he helped Real clinch their 35th Spanish title with a goal in a 4–0 win against Espanyol at the Bernabéu. On 4 May, he scored a decisive goal from the penalty spot in extra time in the second leg against Manchester City and helped Real Madrid reach their 17th European Cup final. By the end of the 2021–22 La Liga season, Benzema won his first Pichichi Trophy with 27 goals in 32 matches. On 28 May, he won his fifth Champions League title after a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the final, and finished the tournament as top scorer with 15 goals in total. On 31 May, Benzema was named the inaugural Champions League player of the season. For his performances in the season, on 17 October, it was confirmed that Karim Benzema had won the Ballon d’Or.
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After last featuring for France in a 4–0 win against Armenia on 8 October 2015, French Football Federation announced on 13 April 2016 that Benzema would not be picked for Euro 2016 tournament on home soil. He responded on 1 June 2016 in Marca, in an interview entitled ‘Benzema: “Deschamps folded due to pressure from France’s racist element”‘. Benzema was also left off the roster for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Directing his frustration at FFF president Noël Le Graët, Benzema later tweeted: “Mr Le Graët, with all due respect, you’ve lost an opportunity to remain silent. I’ve discovered your true face, and this isn’t the one that said he appreciated me and wouldn’t discuss the subject of team selections!” In November 2019, Benzema replied to Le Graët’s comments that his career with France was over, by saying: “If you think I’m done, let me play with one of the other countries I am eligible for and we’ll see”. On 18 May 2021, following speculation from the media, Benzema was officially included in France’s 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020, his first call-up to the national team in over five years. He made his first appearance since his return on 2 June, in a 3–0 home win over Wales, in a friendly warm-up match before the final tournament, during which he missed a penalty, but was later also involved in the final goal scored by Antoine Griezmann. On 23 June 2021, he scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against Portugal, to be his first goals in the European Championship. He subsequently scored another brace in France’s round-of-16 match against Switzerland, where France were knocked out of the tournament on penalties after a 3–3 draw. With four goals in as many games, Benzema won the Euro 2020 bronze boot. In the 2021 UEFA Nations League semi-final on 7 October, Benzema scored France’s first goal in the second half as they came from behind to defeat Belgium 3–2. He overtook Zidane in the France scoring records as he scored his 32nd goal for Le Blues to become the 6th top scorer in their history. In the Final three days later, he scored the temporary equaliser as France went on to clinch the title for the first time with a 2–1 victory over Spain; he was named “Player of the Match” by UEFA for his performance in the final. With two goals, he was the joint–top scorer of the Nations League Finals, along with Spain’s Ferran Torres and teammate Kylian Mbappé, who won the top scorer trophy due to having also provided two assists – Benzema won the bronze boot due to playing more minutes than Torres. The Nations League was Benzema’s first trophy with France’s senior team and his 27th of his career, making him the most decorated Frenchman in football history. On 13 November 2021, Benzema scored his first goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with a brace in an 8–0 win over Kazakhstan as France booked their place for Qatar 2022. His brace saw him over-take David Trezeguet to become Les Bleus’ fifth all-time top scorer with 35 goals.
