Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo ’s vital role in his stunning season for the Spanish champions.
The French forward has been a pivotal player to Los Blancos this term, with them winning the league and Champions League. He scored a stunning 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions this season - including an astounding 15 on the European stage.
That form has seen Benzema re-establish himself as one of the greatest strikers in world football at the current time having regularly been in the shadow of Ronaldo during the pair’s time together at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Benzema has claimed that the Portuguese has been key to his late-career renaissance.
Speaking in an interview with Onze Mondial, the Frenchman has revealed he studied Ronaldo’s game closely during their nine-year spell together in Spain and picked up a few useful tricks - albeit admitting that he will never match the achievements of the 37-year-old.
He said: “When I watched him, I tried to understand everything he did: the goals, the shots, the passes, the ball controI. I dissected everything about Ronaldo. That’s why I can say: it’s impossible to achieve the same.”
Benzema’s stunning form this season has seen the Frenchman put-forward his name for this year’s Ballon d’Or gong. He has explained why he believes he has earned plenty of plaudits so far throughout the year and has revealed that he would be worthy of the accolade come the end of the year.
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He continued: “Because I'm having a great season, I think. I was present during many important matches, I managed differences. All this makes people recognize my performance. And then, I was consistent throughout the season.
“Yes, of course [he would vote for himself], because I love my game, I love what I do on the pitch. I play the football that I always wanted to play. The way I play on the pitch represents my vision of football. For example, if I saw another player doing what I do on a pitch, I would vote for them.”
Benzema will once again be aiming to take his club form onto the international stage this week having made his return to Didier Deschamps' France set-up ahead of Euro 2020. The current reigning world champions kick-off their UEFA Nations League campaign against Denmark at the Stade de France on Friday before then negotiating two clashes with Croatia - as well as a match-up with Austria.
In all, Benzema has made 94 career appearances for Les Bleus and has scored 36 occasions. His former colleague Ronaldo meanwhile was left out of Portugal’s starting line-up entirely for their 1-1 draw with Spain on Thursday evening, only being afforded just under half an hour of action as a second-half substitute.
