Karim Benzema: 20 crack phrases that portray the new Ballon d’Or

It was a long time Karim Benzema under the shadows in the real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo was the top star of the merengue team for a long time and neither he nor almost anyone in the world could overshadow him. But the Portuguese left and the Frenchman found the perfect opportunity to achieve the best version of his career, with which he has already been awarded the 2022 Ballon d’Or.

In recent seasons, Karim has managed to position himself among the best players in the world at full throttle. His statistics improved considerably, much more in the 2021/22 campaign.

The Frenchman, Pichichi de LaLiga and top scorer in the Champions League last year, closed a dream season with 44 goals and 15 assists in 46 games, enjoying an impressive scoring average of 0.96, which earned him his first Ballon de Prayed.

Practically, no one had any doubts that the Madridista ‘9’ deserved to win the highest award. Being the main protagonist of the 14th title of the meringues in the European Cup was finally not in vain. Today, the French striker is overjoyed in Paris.

All this time, Karim was showered with praise. It is not for less. For this reason, in this note we compile 20 phrases -from yesteryear and mostly from this 2022- that portray the new Ballon d’Or.

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1. Cristiano Ronaldo: “I am very happy for him. He is the best striker in La Liga and one of the best in the world. The criticism that he receives is part of being a football professional and we have to be above those things”. (October 2014)
2. Diego Maradona: “There have always been those types of players. Players who wear down defenders so that those who really have to score goals do so. I am an absolute supporter of Benzema…” (December 2017)
3. Luka modric: “Benzema is an excellent striker who is a pleasure to play with. His understanding of the game, his movements, his ability to break up opposing teams, is something special. Benzema has always done an excellent job for the team and I am very happy that he is recognized for his fair value, that is, that of a world-class player”. (July 2020)
4. Luis Figo: “He is a great player and he has shown it this year. He has taken an important step since Cristiano left, because he has felt more important. He is a mix of a nine and a ten.” (July 2020)
5. Zinedine Zidane: “For me it is, Benzema is the best French striker in all of history. He has shown it in every game for a long time, he has played more than 500 here, he has scored many goals… what he is doing and his record speaks for itself. He is the best, he is very clear”. (December 2020)
6. Romelu Lukaku: “Karim Benzema is the best striker in the world. There is no comparison”. (May 2021)
7. Antoine Griezmann: “He is Karim, a great striker, who can only do us good. Frankly, we can only be delighted to have him with us. We must do everything now so that he feels as good as possible, as quickly as possible, so that he has confidence. He is a boy that we can easily play with and obviously he is welcome among us.” (June 2021)
8. Robert Lewandowski: “He scores regularly, he is a goalscorer who always puts the focus on the collective and masters all the parameters of the modern centre-forward. He also likes to assist his classmates. Madrid owes him a lot. Every season he scores a lot of goals. He has continued to improve in recent months. I see him even better, his game is more complete and his figures are impressive”. (February 2022)
9. Carles Puyol: “Benzema, he is a phenomenon, pulling the car!” (March 2022)
10. Danny Alves: “I don’t care if he’s from Real Madrid, but what kind of player is Karim Benzema? What a player! I love this game!” (March 2022)

1. Ronaldo Nazario: “Benzema? He deserves the Ballon d’Or, I’ve been saying it for years and they’ve criticized me… but he deserves it, he’s a great striker”. (April 2022)
2. River Ferdinand: “When Cristiano Ronaldo was at Madrid, Benzema had the humility to take a secondary role because he knew it was the best thing for the team. He now he has come out of the shadows. He is 34 years old and is the best nine in the world. He is on another level. Goals, assists, combinations, he gives another rhythm to the match”. (April 2022)
3. Patrick Evra: “I am very happy for him. It’s not just about the goals, he has this team in hand. He is a war machine, he has humility. I’m very happy for him, he played a great game tonight.” (April 2022)
4. Fabio Capello: “He is a total forward who reminds Di Stéfano, who may not say anything to youngsters, but for those who know, his football says a lot. He participates in the creation, scores great goals and is a leader on the field. For Ancelotti he is the key man”. (April 2022)
5. Antony Cassano: “Benzema was always at the service of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was finally in charge of scoring 50 goals a year. Today they are totally different footballers and Karim is a center forward who has the feet of Zinedine Zidane”. (April 2022)
6. Iker Casillas: “K9 is Spiderman. K9 is Wolverine. K9 is that building doorman. K9 is your best friend. K9 is your grandmother. K9 is the President of the USA. K9 is that monitor that you jump with him in a parachute. K9 is your guardian angel. K9 is God!” (April 2022)
7. Ronaldinho: “I love Benzema. He is a player with enormous qualities. And that is not just today, but has been happening for a long time. This season things are going very well. I hope he wins as many singles titles as possible.” (May 2022)
8. Leo Messi: “I think there are no doubts, it is very clear that Benzema had a spectacular year and ended up consecrating himself with the Champions League, being essential from the round of 16 onwards in all the games”. (May 2022)
9. Kylian Mbappe: “My top 3? I would say Benzema, me and Mané. Karim is 34 years old, he has just had the season of his life, he has won another Champions League in which he has been decisive. If he doesn’t take it, I stop believing in the Ballon d’Or forever.” (August 2022)
10. Kaka: “I think Benzema is the favourite, although you can never say 100% what they are going to give him. Benzema is now a very complete player and the award would be well deserved”. (September 2022)