Thursday, October 8, 2020

Karim Benzema says he has been ‘free’ at Real Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus – and goal record proves it

Karim Benzema has admitted he finally feels ‘free’ at Real Madrid without having to play in the same team as Cristiano Ronaldo.

Legendary forward CR7 completed a shock move away from the Bernabeu in the summer of 2018, joining Juventus for nearly £100million.

Benzema and Ronaldo both arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2009

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Benzema and Ronaldo both arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2009

During his nine-year spell at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo broke numerous records including becoming Los Blancos’ all-time top scorer with a remarkable 451 goals.

Given his stardom and importance to Real Madrid’s successes, it’s no surprise many of Ronaldo’s teammates often faded into the background despite their own incredible talents.

And France striker Benzema, who won four European Cups playing alongside Ronaldo, revealed he had to change his playing style to accommodate his former teammate.

He said: “In Lyon I played in another way. Now I’m free on the pitch, I like to touch the ball.

“With Cristiano I changed my style, I played for him. I had someone who did double or triple my goals and I had to adapt.

“I thought it wouldn’t cost me anything, I just had to change my way of playing and pass it on to him more. I put my goal scoring aside.”

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Benzema also assisted Ronaldo 47 times – more than any other Real Madrid player – during their nine years together.

The Frenchman scored his 250th Real Madrid goal in a 2-0 win over Levante last weekend and netted 30 times in the 2018/19 season – his first campaign without Ronaldo.

Furthermore, only Lionel Messi (25) scored more LaLiga goals than Benzema (21) last term as he continued to prove his quality for Los Blancos now CR7 has departed.



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