- Wikipedia

{"parse":{"title":"Karim Benzema","pageid":4629012,"text":{"*":"

\n\n\n

Karim Benzema

Benzema with Real Madrid in 2021

Personal information

Full name

\nKarim Mostafa Benzema^[1]

Date of birth

\n19 December 1987 (age 37)^[2]

Place of birth

\nLyon, France

Height

\n1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)^[3]

Position(s)

\nStriker

Team information

Current team

\nAl-Ittihad

Number

\n9

Youth career

1993\u20131996

\nAS Des Buers Villeurbanne

1996\u20131997

\nBron

1997\u20132005

\nLyon

Senior career\"

Years

\nTeam

\nApps

\n(Gls)

2004\u20132006

\nLyon II

\n20

\n(15)

2004\u20132009

\nLyon

\n112

\n(43)

2009\u20132023

\nReal Madrid

\n439

\n(238)

2023\u2013

\nAl-Ittihad

\n38

\n(24)

International career

2004

\nFrance U17

\n4

\n(1)

2004\u20132005

\nFrance U18

\n17

\n(14)

2005\u20132006

\nFrance U19

\n9

\n(5)

2006

\nFrance U21

\n5

\n(0)

2007\u20132022

\nFrance

\n97

\n(37)

Medal record

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Men's football\n
\n
Representing $\"\"$ France\n
FIFA World Cup\n
Runner-up	2022 Qatar	\n
UEFA Nations League\n
Winner	2021 Italy	\n
UEFA European Under-17 Championship\n
Winner	2004 France	\n

\n\"Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:36, 15 February 2025 (UTC)

Karim Mostafa Benzema (Arabic: \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 \u0645\u0635\u0637\u0641\u0649 \u0628\u0646 \u0632\u064a\u0645\u0627; born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Benzema is a creative forward known for his technical skills, vision and versatility on the field,^[8] Benzema is Real Madrid's all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider.^[9] He won 25 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga, three Copa del Rey, and five UEFA Champions League titles.^[10] He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.\n

Born in Lyon to parents of Algerian descent, Benzema began his career with hometown club Lyon 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 he joined Real Madrid in a deal worth \u20ac35 million. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season, he eventually achieved a consistent goalscoring rate with the club, notably being part of a highly rated trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale \u2014 dubbed \"BBC\" \u2014 who were integral to four Champions League wins between 2014 and 2018.\n

Following Ronaldo's departure in 2018, Benzema transitioned from the false 9 position into a sole striker. He was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2023, won La Liga Best Player twice and the Pichichi Trophy for the first time in 2022. Benzema finished as Champions League top scorer as he won his fifth title in 2022, and subsequently captained the club in his final season before signing for Al-Ittihad the following year.\n

A French international, Benzema won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and made his senior debut for France in 2007, at age 19. After appearing at UEFA Euro 2008, Benzema was controversially left out of the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; following his return for Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, he did not play for France for over five years after being implicated in a blackmailing scandal in 2015. He later returned to the squad for Euro 2020, where he won the Bronze Boot. Benzema was also a part of the French squad that finished as runners-up at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not play at the tournament due to an injury, though he did receive a medal. He announced his international retirement in December 2022 following the World Cup. Overall, Benzema earned 97 caps and scored 37 goals, ranking as France's sixth-highest all-time top goalscorer, and was named French Player of the Year by France Football four times.\n

For his performances in 2021 and 2022, Benzema was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or, becoming the fifth French player to have won the Ballon d'Or.^[11]^[12] One of the highest-paid footballers in the world, he made Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2024.^[13]\n

\n\n

Club\n	Season\n	League\n	National cup^[a]\n	League cup^[b]\n	Continental^[c]\n	Other\n	Total\n
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals\n
Lyon II\n	2004\u201305\n	CFA\n	11	10	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	11	10\n
2005\u201306\n	CFA\n	9	5	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	9	5\n
Total\n	20	15	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	20	15\n
Lyon\n	2004\u201305\n	Ligue 1\n	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	\u2014	6	0\n
2005\u201306\n	Ligue 1\n	13	1	2	2	0	0	1	1	\u2014	16	4\n
2006\u201307\n	Ligue 1\n	21	5	1	0	1	0	3	2	1^[d]	1	27	8\n
2007\u201308\n	Ligue 1\n	36	20	6	6	2	1	7	4	1^[d]\n	0	52	31\n
2008\u201309\n	Ligue 1\n	36	17	2	1	0	0	8	5	1^[d]	0	47	23\n
Total\n	112	43	11	9	3	1	19	12	3	1	148	66\n
Real Madrid\n	2009\u201310\n	La Liga\n	27	8	1	0	\u2014	5	1	\u2014	33	9\n
2010\u201311\n	La Liga\n	33	15	7	5	\u2014	8	6	\u2014	48	26\n
2011\u201312\n	La Liga\n	34	21	5	3	\u2014	11	7	2^[e]	1	52	32\n
2012\u201313\n	La Liga\n	30	11	8	4	\u2014	10	5	2^[e]	0	50	20\n
2013\u201314\n	La Liga\n	35	17	6	2	\u2014	11	5	\u2014	52	24\n
2014\u201315\n	La Liga\n	29	15	3	0	\u2014	9	6	5^[f]	1	46	22\n
2015\u201316\n	La Liga\n	27	24	0	0	\u2014	9	4	\u2014	36	28\n
2016\u201317\n	La Liga\n	29	11	3	1	\u2014	13	5	3^[g]	2	48	19\n
2017\u201318\n	La Liga\n	32	5	1	1	\u2014	9	5	5^[h]	1	47	12\n
2018\u201319\n	La Liga\n	36	21	6	4	\u2014	8	4	3^[i]	1	53	30\n
2019\u201320\n	La Liga\n	37	21	3	1	\u2014	8	5	0	0	48	27\n
2020\u201321\n	La Liga\n	34	23	1	0	\u2014	10	6	1^[e]	1	46	30\n
2021\u201322\n	La Liga\n	32	27	0	0	\u2014	12	15	2^[e]	2	46	44\n
2022\u201323\n	La Liga\n	24	19	5	4	\u2014	10	4	4^[j]	4	43	31\n
Total\n	439	238	49	25	\u2014	133	78	27	13	648	354\n
Al-Ittihad\n	2023\u201324\n	Saudi Pro League\n	21	9	1	1	\u2014	3^[k]	0	8^[l]	6	33	16\n
2024\u201325\n	Saudi Pro League\n	17	15	2	2	\u2014	\u2014	\u2014	19	17\n
Total\n	38	24	3	3	\u2014	3	0	8	6	52	33\n
Career total\n	609	320	63	37	3	1	155	90	38	20	868	468\n

National team	Year	Apps	Goals\n
France\n	2007	8	3\n
2008	11	2\n
2009	8	3\n
2010	5	3\n
2011	10	2\n
2012	12	2\n
2013	10	3\n
2014	13	7\n
2015	4	2\n
2016	0	0\n
2017	0	0\n
2018	0	0\n
2019	0	0\n
2020	0	0\n
2021	13	9\n
2022	3	1\n
Total	97	37\n

No.\n	Date\n	Venue\n	Cap\n	Opponent\n	Score\n	Result\n	Competition\n
1\n	28 March 2007\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	1\n	$\"\"$ Austria\n	1\u20130\n	1\u20130\n	Friendly\n
2\n	13 October 2007\n	T\u00f3rsv\u00f8llur, T\u00f3rshavn, Faroe Islands\n	5\n	$\"\"$ Faroe Islands\n	3\u20130\n	6\u20130\n	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying\n
3\n	5\u20130\n
4\n	20 August 2008\n	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden\n	14\n	$\"\"$ Sweden\n	1\u20131\n	3\u20132\n	Friendly\n
5\n	14 October 2008\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	18\n	$\"\"$ Tunisia\n	3\u20131\n	3\u20131\n
6\n	5 June 2009\n	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France\n	24\n	$\"\"$ Turkey\n	1\u20130\n	1\u20130\n
7\n	10 October 2009\n	Stade de Roudourou, Guingamp, France\n	26\n	$\"\"$ Faroe Islands\n	5\u20130\n	5\u20130\n	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification\n
8\n	14 October 2009\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	27\n	$\"\"$ Austria\n	1\u20130\n	3\u20131\n
9\n	7 September 2010\n	Ko\u0161evo City Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina\n	29\n	$\"\"$ Bosnia and Herzegovina\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20130\n	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying\n
10\n	12 October 2010\n	Stade Saint-Symphorien, Metz, France\n	31\n	$\"\"$ Luxembourg\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20130\n
11\n	17 November 2010\n	Wembley Stadium, London, England\n	32\n	$\"\"$ England\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20131\n	Friendly\n
12\n	9 February 2011\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	33\n	$\"\"$ Brazil\n	1\u20130\n	1\u20130\n
13\n	2 September 2011\n	Stadiumi Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania\n	39\n	$\"\"$ Albania\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20131\n	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying\n
14\n	5 June 2012\n	MMArena, Le Mans, France\n	45\n	$\"\"$ Estonia\n	2\u20130\n	4\u20130\n	Friendly\n
15\n	3\u20130\n
16\n	11 October 2013\n	Parc des Princes, Paris, France\n	61\n	$\"\"$ Australia\n	6\u20130\n	6\u20130\n
17\n	15 October 2013\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	62\n	$\"\"$ Finland\n	3\u20130\n	3\u20130\n	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification\n
18\n	19 November 2013\n	64\n	$\"\"$ Ukraine\n	2\u20130\n	3\u20130\n
19\n	5 March 2014\n	65\n	$\"\"$ Netherlands\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20130\n	Friendly\n
20\n	8 June 2014\n	Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France\n	66\n	$\"\"$ Jamaica\n	3\u20130\n	8\u20130\n
21\n	5\u20130\n
22\n	15 June 2014\n	Est\u00e1dio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil\n	67\n	$\"\"$ Honduras\n	1\u20130\n	3\u20130\n	2014 FIFA World Cup\n
23\n	3\u20130\n
24\n	20 June 2014\n	Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil\n	68\n	$\"\"$ Switzerland\n	4\u20130\n	5\u20132\n
25\n	11 October 2014\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	74\n	$\"\"$ Portugal\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20131\n	Friendly\n
26\n	8 October 2015\n	Allianz Riviera, Nice, France\n	81\n	$\"\"$ Armenia\n	3\u20130\n	4\u20130\n
27\n	4\u20130\n
28\n	23 June 2021\n	Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na, Budapest, Hungary\n	86\n	$\"\"$ Portugal\n	1\u20131\n	2\u20132\n	UEFA Euro 2020\n
29\n	2\u20131\n
30\n	28 June 2021\n	Arena Na\u021bional\u0103, Bucharest, Romania\n	87\n	$\"\"$ Switzerland\n	1\u20131\n	3\u20133 (a.e.t.)\n
31\n	2\u20131\n
32\n	7 October 2021\n	Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy\n	91\n	$\"\"$ Belgium\n	1\u20132\n	3\u20132\n	2021 UEFA Nations League Finals\n
33\n	10 October 2021\n	San Siro, Milan, Italy\n	92\n	$\"\"$ Spain\n	1\u20131\n	2\u20131\n	2021 UEFA Nations League final\n
34\n	13 November 2021\n	Parc des Princes, Paris, France\n	93\n	$\"\"$ Kazakhstan\n	4\u20130\n	8\u20130\n	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification\n
35\n	5\u20130\n
36\n	16 November 2021\n	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland\n	94\n	$\"\"$ Finland\n	1\u20130\n	2\u20130\n
37\n	3 June 2022\n	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France\n	95\n	$\"\"$ Denmark\n	1\u20130\n	1\u20132\n	2022\u201323 UEFA Nations League A\n

Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI VIAF
National	Germany France BnF data Spain Poland Catalonia
Artists	MusicBrainz
Other	IdRef

Club career

Early career

Lyon

2004\u20132007: Breakthrough and three league titles

2007\u20132009: Club talisman

Real Madrid

2009\u201310: Transfer and adapting to Spain

2010\u201311: First-team mainstay

2011\u201312: First La Liga championship

2012\u20132016: Sustained continental success

2016\u20132018: European threepeat and second league title

2018\u20132021: Club talisman, third league title and the return of Zidane

2021\u201322: Vice-captaincy, fourth league title, UCL top scorer and Ballon d'Or

2022\u201323: Captaincy, all-time second top scorer and departure

Al-Ittihad

International career

Youth

Senior

Euro 2008

2010 World Cup omission

Euro 2012

2014 World Cup

2016\u20132020 exclusion

Return to the squad, Nations League victory and retirement

Style of play

Personal life

Controversies and legal issues

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

Notes

References

External links

Karim Benzema

Talks

Karim Benzema's Talks