It’s astonishing that someone can be underrated while also being an integral part of the Real Madrid team for so long, but you’ll rarely hear Karim Benzema being talked up as one of the best strikers in the world.
Perhaps he just had to live in the shadow for Cristiano Ronaldo for so long that fans started to take him for granted, while he’s also a rare example of consistency when Real Madrid tend to look for new signings all the time.
One of the biggest slights against him is that he’s more of a link player who doesn’t score enough goals, but this stat shows how wrong that is:
?? Benzema: ocho temporadas marcando al menos 20 goles con el Real Madrid, algo que sólo habían conseguido Di Stéfano, Raúl y Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/HGPWjE3KOW
— MARCA (@marca) June 18, 2020
After his two goals against Valencia this evening, it means he’s now joined Raul, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stefano in becoming the only players to score more than 20 goals in eight separate seasons for Real.
This shows just how brilliant and important he is to the team, and it’s likely he won’t be truly appreciated until after he leaves or retires.
His second goal tonight was an absolutely beauty, it might even go down as the goal of the season in La Liga and you can watch it here.