Karim Benzema Height Weight Age Biography Family Wiki Net Worth, Affairs, Marriage & much more. Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Real Madrid and the France national team. A creative and prolific forward known for his playmaking and finishing, he is regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation. Benzema ranks as Real Madrid’s joint-second highest all-time top goalscorer.
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 2014–2018.
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 and 2020–21, awarded the league’s Best Player in 2019–20 and winning the Pichichi Trophy in 2021–22. Captaining the team, his notable career-high performances during Real Madrid’s victory at the 2021–22 Champions League have been hailed as one of the finest individual campaigns in the competition’s history, in addition to winning the top scorer and player of the season. He has won 22 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga titles, two Copas 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 publicised scandal involving in 2015; he returned to the squad for Euro 2020. He has been named French Player of the Year by France Football four times.
Personal life
Karim Benzema was born in the city of 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.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 daughter Mélia was born. On 5 May 2017, his son Ibrahim was born. A practicing Muslim, Benzema observes fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 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
Style of play
Generally known for both his finishing and playmaking, Benzema is regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation. He is a creative, skillful, quick, agile, and prolific forward, who is good in the air and capable of playing off the shoulders of the last defender, and has been described as an “immensely talented striker” who is “strong and powerful” and “a potent finisher from inside the box” with either foot, as well as his head, despite being naturally right footed. He is considered to be one of the best strikers of his generation, with his Real Madrid manager Ancelotti describing him “the best striker in the world” in 2021.
An atypical number 9, although he is usually deployed as a centre forward, and can operate as an out-and-out striker, Benzema is also capable of playing in several other offensive positions, and has been used on the wing, or even as a playmaker behind the main striker, either in the number 10 role as an attacking midfielder, or as a deep-lying forward. In addition to his goalscoring, Benzema is known for his willingness and ability to drop into deeper or wider positions, and either link-up play with midfielders, or use his strength and technical ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal to provide assists for teammates, courtesy of his vision, creativity, passing, and eye for the final ball;his playing style led one commentator to describe him as a “nine and a half”. Highlighting his prolific goalscoring and his creative abilities, Benzema ranks as the Real Madrid’s second-highest all-time top goalscorer and all-time top assist provider.
During his time at Real Madrid, Benzema has also been praised by pundits for his work-rate and tactical intelligence off the ball, as well as his positional sense and attacking movement as a forward, which often draws opposing defenders out of position, and in turn creates spaces for his teammates; as such, he formed a strong offensive partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo during the latter’s time with the club. Indeed, Benzema’s movement drew defenders away and created space for Ronaldo to make attacking runs into the centre of the area from the left wing, which essentially saw the Frenchman act as a false 9. Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, he took on a new role as the club’s main striker, playing with his back to goal less frequently, and instead receiving the ball facing the goal and taking more touches inside the penalty area; in this position, he also often drifted out wide onto the left flank, while he was able to utilise his control and touch on the ball effectively to create goalscoring opportunities for himself inside the box. The positional change saw an increase in his goalscoring output for the club and an improvement in his shooting, for which he had occasionally come under criticism from the press in the past, as demonstrated by the variety of his goals, his conversion rate, and his clinical finishing with his feet as well as his head; however, in addition to taking over the role of the team’s main goalscorer, he also still continued to serve as link-up player for the team’s front line by creating chances for his teammates.
Early career
Benzema began his football career at his hometown club Bron Terraillon SC at the age of eight. While at the club, he was nicknamed Coco by friends and, after scoring two goals in an under-10 match against the Lyon youth academy, began attracting attention from the biggest club in the city. According to Serge Santa Cruz, who was president of Bron Terraillon in the 1990s, Lyon officials had visited him directly in an attempt to sign the youngster; however, Santa Cruz refused. After talking with Benzema’s father, the club allowed the player to undergo a trial with Lyon.Following the trial, Benzema officially joined Lyon and was inserted into the club’s academy.
Karim Benzema Height Weight Girlfriend Age Body Statistics Biography
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Lyon B | 2004–05 | Championnat National | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 10 | |||
| 2005–06 | Championnat National | 9 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 20 | 15 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 15 | |||||
| Lyon | 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 16 | 4 | |
| 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 8 |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 31 |
| 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 23 |
| Total | 112 | 43 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 148 | 66 | |
| Real Madrid | 2009–10 | La Liga | 27 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 33 | 9 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 33 | 15 | 7 | 5 | — | 8 | 6 | — | 48 | 26 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 34 | 21 | 5 | 3 | — | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 32 | |
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 30 | 11 | 8 | 4 | — | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 20 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 35 | 17 | 6 | 2 | — | 11 | 5 | — | 52 | 24 | ||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 29 | 15 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 46 | 22 | |
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 4 | — | 36 | 28 | ||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 29 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | 13 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 19 | |
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 32 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 47 | 12 | |
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 36 | 21 | 6 | 4 | — | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 30 | |
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 37 | 21 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 | 5 | — | 48 | 27 | ||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 34 | 23 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 30 | |
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 32 | 27 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 44 | |
| Total | 415 | 219 | 44 | 21 | — | 123 | 74 | 23 | 9 | 605 | 323 | ||
| Career total | 547 | 277 | 55 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 142 | 86 | 26 | 10 | 773 | 404 |
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2007 | 8 | 3 |
| 2008 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 7 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 96 | 37 |