Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus last summer. Karim Benzema and Ronaldo played with each other for nine seasons and won a host of trophies.
Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo during their time at Real Madrid.
Karim Benzema had formed a lethal partnership Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale during their time at Real Madrid. Benzema used to play as a central striker while Bale and Cristiano flanked him. The three players were fondly known as “BBC”. It used to be Cristiano who scored the majority of the goals after cutting in from the left side while Benzema settled in more as a provider. The amount of goals that Ronaldo scored during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu justifies that.
But after a nine-year spell at Real, Ronaldo decided to leave the club and join Italian champions Juventus in the summer. Ronaldo left a big legacy at Real after becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer with 450 goals in 438 games.
However, since Cristiano’s departure, Benzema has enjoyed a fruitful time in front of goal. Benzema joined Madrid in 2009 but was often criticised for his lack of goals. But this season the former Lyon striker has been on fire. He has already scored 20 goals in 40 matches across all competitions since the beginning of the campaign.
Benzema is enjoying his best form in front of goal since the 2015/16 season and has gone on record saying that Ronaldo’s departure led him to become the leader of the attack, which has contributed to his rich vein of form.
"Before there was a guy who scored more than 50 goals a season and I was in a role of provider. I played geared to Cristiano. We formed a good duo. I looked for him continually with the objective to help him score even more goals," Benzema toldFrance Football.
"Now I'm able to play my true game. Before I used to play to help Cristiano, now I'm the leader in attack. I feel more legitimate. I have the feeling that, from here, I'm free. When I was on the pitch, I was constantly looking for Cristiano Ronaldo with the objective being that he'd score the most goals possible. I had a secondary role. Now it's my time to demonstrate that I'm desperate to score, to help my team. That's what I like," the Frenchman added.
31-year-old Benzema has won two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey twice and four Champions League trophies since joining Real Madrid from Lyon. This season he has provided seven assists for his teammates along with his 20 strikes.
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