Karim Benzema has given an interview to El Pais with comments carried by Diario AS in which he shows a personal side to him. Real Madrid‘s French marksman remembered his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo as well as his connection with Zinedine Zidane.
Benzema arrived at Madrid alongside Ronaldo in 2009, and together with Gareth Bale forged BBC, a lethal attacking trident that could dismantle any defence. “I was very happy with Cristiano,” Benzema said in the interview.
“The only thing I would say is that Cristiano’s departure allowed me to play a different role. He was scoring 50 or 60 goals a year, and you had to adapt to his game. He’s one of the best in the world.” On Zidane, with whom he shares a similar background, Benzema said that “he’s an older brother to me. Off the field, he’s always there to advise me.”
Benzema also remarked on the humility of the neighbourhood in Lyon in which he grew up, and spoke of his admiration for figures like Ronaldo Nazario and Mike Tyson. The French forward also spoke about racism in football, something he branded disgusting.
A doubt for this weekend’s derby with Atletico Madrid, Zidane will be hoping his star striker can recover in time. Benzema has proven to be one of the most consistent goal-scorers in European football, proving integral to Madrid last season by scoring 21 goals as they wrestled La Liga back from Barcelona.
