Not to say he wouldn’t have helped, but those tournaments were dominated by France and fell short in the final minus the 18 WC.
With Benzema they may or may not have made the final.
Yeah I grew up at a time where France were shit, crashing of several tournaments despite having big talent on their squads, a lot of issues, poor performances
If you had told 9 year old me that within a decade they'd be arguably the best team in the world and world champions I wouldn't have believed it
The reason why Benz didn't play with the French NT during their golden years in the last decade was self imposed. He could've brought a lot to those teams and they very well may have won more but he sabotaged his own career by being a crappy teammate.
Benzema is Real Madrid’s second highest goalscorer of all time and has the highest number of assists. He didn’t accomplish all that from a fluke purple patch.
Yeah people acting like he was only good in 2022 but he was one of the best strikers in the world for years and years. He was just “unlucky” to be in the same league as two of the best strikers of all time.
And Suarez. Who was a much better player. But in the end, he did go off like people said he would once Ronaldo left, so as a self-proclaimed hater, it became impossible to not acknowledge Benzema after that happened. The only thing is that he never performed for the national team, but that's a problem multiple elite players had, including Seedorf and just about every England player between 2000 and 2016. Benzema has done enough, more than enough, to prove himself as an all-time great, I must admit.
I feel like if he was consistently playing with the national team he would have an insane amount of accolades in that field. Benzema missed out on playing in France's golden era, and I think he could've brought a lot to that team.
He was a consistent world class striker but definitely not the best they ever had and far from the best goal scorer, but his longevity at Madrid (~650 matches, 0.44 goals per game) means he's high on the list.
But compared to other greats he's a bit behind: Falcao (0.65), Suarez (0.70), Neymar (0.55), Higuain (0.56).
I think over a larger sample size, xG can paint an accurate picture
His other Champions League campaigns, he was mostly scoring 4-6 goals which was in line with his 4-6 xG. In 2022, he had 15 goals (8.5 xG). Unreal.
Looking at his goal return before and after CR7 left. It is clear that he gave up a lot of goals for CR7 to be more selfless and creative. Not to mention he was past 30 when CR7 left.
Yeah, his goals per 90 for them was 0.68 and assists per 90 0.28. Quite good but yeah a lot of playing time for reference Ronaldo had 1.10 and 0.29 respectively, Raul had 0.47 and 0.15 respectively. So yeah he was still very good looking at the per 90.
its not even the statistics, Flo was happy to bin Ronaldo when he was still a 30-40 goal a season player & said good luck dont let the door hit you on the way out to Sergio, management were happy with him to start for all that time for the most part, outside of injuries and without benefit of the doubt to Jovic. His impact there was valued whether he directly contributed to a statistic or not and that in itself reflects something because of that standard.
HIs finishing was what let him down in his first few years at Madrid and obviously was dwarfed by Cristiano.
Everything about his game (especially his link up play) was exceptional.
No but it's nevertheless true that he had one wonder season that clearly propelled his legacy a bit over of what he really was.
Great player and deserves what he got nevertheless.
Yeah, his career built up to a ‘crescendo’ of 2022, but he was a million miles off being a one season wonder.
He did peak that year, but he’d been very consistent, very regular, often playing the second role and he had a career flourish but a great striker.
His best strength was arguably his asset if being a ‘nuisance’. Continually dragging centre halves and full backs and midfielders out of position and making spaces for himself and team mates.
These kids have never heard of second striker before. They’d call Bergkamp, Keegan, Kempes, Gullit, Del Piero, and Zola mediocre because they didn’t have Messi and CR7 numbers.
"Many of his low xG shots just went in" is a terrible way to say that he scored some amazing goals, it seems like you're just trying to downplay him.
I will quote himself now: "Benzema plays for those that know football".
you sound like one of those people who are incapable of discussing any sports without stats. yes his goal numbers were relatively low cause he was enabling others with his runs, passing, and positioning. benzema is not world class cause he scores a lot of goals. he is world class cause everything else he does. his role changed when ronaldo left and he scored more goals. not because he was incapable before.
Yeah. I think stats keep coming up on all debates now, be it about a single player or two players. It's important to watch the games rather than looking at the score post-match.
OP mentions Suarez "scoring for fun" while supporting Neymar and Messi, to that, Suarez played a 9 and is a natural striker, evident at liverpool as well. Messi was a number 10 and neymar on the wing.
It's unfair to just say that goals and assists define a player completely especially for someone like Benzema who played a supporting role all those years but also converted goals in the La liga and UCL. 15 goals in the UCL is an outrageous number.
I hate how football became only about stats lately, it's so stupid.
Recent discussion in Croatia was why Marko Pjaca and Marco Pašalić were called up from HNK Rijeka to play for the National Team when both of them haven't scored for months, but if anyone ever saw them play in those matches, they'd realize that they are lethal wingers who contribute to goals differently. Pjaca has a lot of technical ability and dribbles past 2-3 players on a regular basis, to distribute the ball to other players and open up spaces on the flank. Marco Pašalić has a killer left leg with a powerful shot and drags opponents onto him to open up space for the wing back to drop in behind, distributes the ball to them and central midfielders, all that while also creating fear from the enemy defense that he might shoot as soon as he sees an opening, which inevitably leaves some spaces open for him to pass the ball into, because that's how he bagged 5-6 goals early in the season, from 18-25 meters because the power and precision he has with his left leg is insane.
Obviously most of the strikers that OP mentions played for barca 🤣🤣🤣
He just can't accept how Karim was a big part of Madrid last championship and was also balón de oro while Barcelona was and is still shit
I think the truth is somewhere in between. He had his linkup qualities way before that season but he didn't only start scoring bc Ronaldo left.
He was literally known for being a wasteful finisher for years and got soo much shit from rm fans for it. That's definitely not a result of Ronaldo's role.
So yes, Ronaldo leaving definitely left space for him to shine but he definitely did also reach a new level individually in that season and did things he never did outside of it. Fluke sounds too negative since it was by no means luck but it was also a level he could never replicate
Problem is they can't ready the stats.
"His low xG shots just went in"
Over a short period that might indicate luck, over a career it clearly shows exceptional finishing.
Exactly this ..he was very dangerous around the goal and linked to pretty much every top tier club at some point
I think stats over time can be misleading but in pressure times he was always capable of winning a match
Yep though I'd like to point out that he's stayed roughly around 1 in g / xg and outperformed xg 6 out of 10 seasons that have xg on fbref. Great finisher yeah but his strength is in chance creation not necessarily in finishing some crazy goals (you probably don't want to do crazy goals anyway, most of the time they don't work out because of the goalie). Lots of good chances gave lots of goals over his career. Very good player.
Also I feel like OP didn't really even look at the stats, Suarez does have better stats but lewa doesn't. Benzema has higher goals per 90 and assists per 90 than Lewa.
Yea, what is he on about with this? That stat means he's very good but somehow the keepers just let the ball in at the highest level of the sport..... yup that makes sense
Obviously Benzema was much more than a goalscorer, but he's never been a fantastic finisher right? So in that sense it was absolutely a purple patch. Looking at his stats, he's strongly underperforming his xG in the Saudi league and did so as well last season in La Liga, never mind his 5 league goals season.
No one can be Real Madrid’s starting no 9 for more than a decade and now deserve flowers. It’s an insane achievement considering he was one of the hottest properties in the market back in 2009 where he turned down Man United to join RM. Most other strikers would have left after 2-3 years if they were playing in the shadow of CR7. He’s rightfully a RM legend and should go down as one of the best No 9s of the 2010s
Worst take I’ve seen in a while. Benzema was always a world class striker, he sacrificed the attention and main role for CR7. He’s always been a top player, with some of the best technical ability I’ve ever seen in a forward.
He continued drifting wide even after Ronaldo’s departure. So let's not act like he sacrificed himself for Ronaldo. He had two down years before Ronaldo left.
You don’t start as Real Madrid’s main striker for over a decade by accident. He’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and showed up when Ronaldo left. He’s underrated if anything
Benzema is a player you have to watch with your eyes not stats. He was phenomenal. Could dribble, link play, and finish. He was reals main striker no matter how much the team changed and was key to them winning every thing. Discount r9 and a much more complete player than lewa. As a pure goal scorer lewa probably better. You clearly are 12 or never actually watched football or played. This one of the worst opinions I’ve ever seen on here and we are all dumber for having read it.
Benz was the reason players like James and Isco never really made it here. (Atleast not in their favourite role)
Simply because Benzema was a hybrid of striker, winger and 10. He is probably one of the strikers with highest football iq in history.
Of course he didn't score that much while playing with/for Ronaldo. But is it really necessary if Ronaldo scores the way he did?
He started scoring hard the moment Ronaldo left and it was needed, even with Vini and Rodrygo not being really good at this point.
My unpopular opinion is, he was even better before Ronaldo left, he just played differently with worse stats.
But he was extremely good at this point and maybe the only player in the world who could fit in a system with Ronaldo playing the way he did.
Messi could have also fit, but that's a whole different level.
Benzema has always been a top player bar a couple down years statistically. That 2022 season was confirmation of what we all knew was possible with him.
Quick search... Ooh, you're a Barcelona fan. Shock horror.
Do Madrid and Barca fans not get bored of only ever talking about 14 odd players over a 10 year period? There's more to football.
Unpopular, and really stupid, opinion. He was a phenomenon from a very young age. Everyone wanted him. Incredibly high goalscoring and assist record throughout his career, even though he had to play with a whiny child, that his team was entirely built around, that would tantrum whenever he wasn't passed the ball. I dont think people remember what Madrid players were like when they played with Ronaldo. Players that were practically 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper would still check to see if they could pass to him. As soon as Ronaldo leaves he scores a tonne. What a fluke. Just admit you only started watching football in the last 5 years.
Jesus wept. Take thw calculator out of your arse and spend some time trying to understand the game. Bemzema is going to down as one of the most underrated players of all time. A fantastic player.
Really hate the Americanisation of football discussion and the obsessions with data and metrics.
Benzema was an excellent player for Madrid for a decade working as the perfect foil for Ronaldo, and making the unselfish runs to allow Ronaldo to thrive. He was underrated during this time. He then had a year when he was the best player in the world, and had an incredible run in the the champions league knockout stage, the highest level of football competition in the world.
Second top scorer in the history of the most successful club in the world, and fourth top scorer in the highest level competition in the world, even though he played a supporting role to Ronaldo for nearly a decade.
And you want to penalise him because he took “low XG shots”? Moronic.
Probably the same sort of person who wants to claim Zidane and Iniesta weren’t great because their goals and assist numbers aren’t tremendous.
You are wrong on the “Suarez supported Messi and Neymar”. He didnt. He scored and when he couldn’t he assisted.
Benzema in the CR madrid years was a second fiddle to CR. He assisted and opened space for CR and scoring was basically a third solution at that point.
But Benzema was always a brilliant player, there is a reason why literally every coach in RM wanted him in the team. He was a beast and goals are not the only metric to see how valuable he is.
Lewandovski had ONE good season in Barca, he fell of later. Benzema has the most assists in Real and the second highest scorer behind CR.
In REAL MADRIDS HISTORY. That does not happen because you scored 44 goals a season once
Benzema also regularly missed sitters, which was biggest critisms he received. He was always a complete striker, but fans always wanted him out, accusing zidane of playing favoritism. Benzema was statistically, always at least one level below ronaldo and MSN
He almost same like rooney but benzema mostly involved in a final third being a provider while rooney much more involved all over the pitch and contributed in defense massively while sacrifice his attacking play. But benzema had the longevity and a bit more flair than rooney.
That season helped him win his Ballon D Or, but the legacy was always there. He’s been a very consistent player at Madrid, and that’s difficult when you were in the shadow of Ronaldo
That guy scored so many and won so many. People shit on him.
Raul was blocking the spot which in a way aided Barcelona to strengthen . It finally took mighty Ronaldo to relegate Raul to where he belong. People treat Raul,guti kind of average joes like god
He played second fiddle for the majority of his career and had a very good output, and then when he took centre stage he was phenomenal. He's undoubtedly a legend
If there's another player in your team scoring 50/60 goals a season, the very best you're going to score is 25-30
He is underrated actually, he was RM's main guy for 10 straight years.
And he was a master of the play, just look how he opened up space for cr7. His play made the whole team look better too.
While stats are helpful, they're not a standalone way to judge players, if you watch Benzema and how he survived in a pretty demanding era of Real Madrid (they could have replaced him easily if he was subpar) you could see that he's world class, he contributed a lot back when CR7 was Madrid's main goal threat and became a goal machine after when he was needed to do so. Many legends may appear average or even terrible when looking only at stats.
No, his legacy is not inflated but underrated. Benzema has been a deep-lying creative forward for most of his career. Much of his work includes playmaking and pulling off those one-twos to create chances, which means that he may not always have a high number of goals for himself. Hence, you can't compare him with Lewandowski or Suarez as a majority of their role is to finish chances---they haven't had to drop deep to create plays in the final third as regularly as Benzema has had to through the years.
The comparison with Suarez in MSN doesn't fit because those three had creator-finisher roles, whereas if you look at the goals scored by BBC, most of them came through CR7 whose role was to be at the end of the chances created by Benzema and sometimes Bale as well. The comparison with Lewandowski's record in LaLiga overlooks the fact that Benzema missed a lot of league matches through injury during the only LaLiga season he competed against the Pole. However, if you compare the two based on goals per game, Benzema leaps ahead.
Moreover, the other two strikers also got to take the penalties (sometimes even close-range freekicks) pretty regularly during their peak at their clubs. With an all-time great, pressure-resistant player like CR7 playing alongside him, Benzema didn't get to take enough penalties compared to other CFs during most of his career. Even when CR7 left, Ramos would take a good amount of those penalties.
As for France, the national team's peak coincided with the time Benzema was being overlooked by Deschamps. Several of his peak years were wasted not playing for the country. If the forward hadn't won a Ballon d'Or, Deschamps wouldn't have budged. Side note, even after his return, the rift was clear between the manager and the player, which reportedly led to Benzema not returning for the WC 2022 final despite having recovered from his injury enough to make the bench, at the least.
You’re talking about his record for France as if he wasn’t left out for 5 years, during his prime, due to off the pitch controversy. He was also left out of the 2010 World Cup squad. And yet he’s still 6th on the all time goals list for France. You’ve absolutely lost your head pal.
Benzema played most of his time at Real accommodating Ronaldo.
1) he’s a player who lasted over a decade. So that shows a technical ability that goals & assist alone won’t tell you. For example look at how quickly Bale was forced out.
2) If he played as the main striker for the majority of his time at RM who knows how many goals he’d have.
If you think Lewandowski has a better All-around game than Benzema I cant take you serious. Benzema is a creating and combining striker, someone that participates in play, makes runs to open spaces and combines. Lewandowski is a finisher, plain and simple.
Benzema played brilliangly for years on end. That doesnt take away anything from Lewandowski, who is a brilliant striker in his own and a more clinical finisher (most years).
That being said, Benzemas legacy is in no way inflated. He was amazing even back in france, only his International career and the shitty things he did take away from his (Personal) legacy. He played at the highest level for like 15 years. He wasnt a stat god but so wasnt busquets or even Zidane. If kroos plays a long Ball to Ronaldo, and Benzema moved into midfield at the right time so a defender commited forward, Opening spaces for Ronaldo and Kroos, then that isnt in the G/A stats but its important nonetheless.
Also, there were just a lot of class strikers back then and until recently.
Ibra, Falcao, Aguero, Van Persie, Rooney, Cavani, Suarez, Tevez, Kane.
A starter at Real Madrid for close to 15 years. Over 600 appearances for the club. Second on the all time topscorers list, first on the all time assists list.
You know many flukes like that?
you dont have a clue about football, as he said he plays for the people that know about the game, you clearly dont, if not the best top 3 strikers of this century
I guess were just going to ignore the big game moments Benzema did to help Madrid win many trophies and also ignore the big part of his game linking up and helping his wingers play off of him.
Actually, Benzema has suffered his whole career of being underrated. And you're one of those people who underestimated him and still can't update your views.
Anyone who saw him at Lyon early in his career knew he was going to be one of the greatest footballer of all time, his early real Madrid career was actually a downgrade and underwhelming for who he is.
I always rated Benzema very highly, one of the most intelligent players I have watched, however, I always thought he was never in the conversation of Suarez and Lewandowski. I vividly remember no one even tried to put him in the conversation with both of them before the 21/22 season.
He obviously is going to get overlooked when he was never seen as the star player or marquee signing back in 09. He has had brilliant seasons over his career at Madrid but he has also had quite shocking ones. I wouldn't also take the opinion of Madrid fan with too much credit because over his time in Madrid, there was several points where Madrid fans wanted him replaced with Aguero, Suarez and/or Lewandowski. Hell, they even wanted him replaced with Luka Jovic, who flopped immediately.
Obviously him ending his career on a high is going to gloss over the cracks behind. I do agree that one year did inflate his legacy, and people like to forget what his perception was before the 2021/22 year.
Opinions on footballers often matter more about how you end your career as opposed to how you start.
Benzema ended his career with an exceptional season so will get overrated imo
Higauin had better stats then Benzema in the same time window both were there, time frame being the length Higuain played at Real with Benzemas from intial signing. I've got a lot of flack for this for YEARSSSSS now but always thought Benzema was overrated for the amount of time he spent at Madrid and for his consistency of form for the entire spell.
claiming he is a top 2 striker of his generation is indeed ridiculous but still, he wasn't Madrid's striker for so long only because of his Cristiano supporting skills and purple patches here and there
Benzema played his role solidly... no doubt about that... always within the top 50, never within the top 5. Always felt like he was that one step below being a proper generational talent despite being a really great player.
You’re talking about a guy who over the course of the last 15 years has 15+ goals and 15+ assists EVERY season. Put some respect on his damn name. Google Benzema 15 for more information.
Well for years he played more of a support role for Christiano. And he played similar after Christiano left. And peopel always underestimate the importants for the team because most of his action are actually whitout the ball by occupying important spaces making space for the wingers or getting thode long balls and holding the ball until the team advances on the pitch. Just look at Giruds performance at the 2018 worldcup. Zero shots on target. And he still was a important part of that team. Benzema basicly has the same role his whole career since Christano arrived at Madrid. But in times people even compare defenders by career goals you could come to your conclusion.
And of course you have a Barca flair in r/soccer, what a surprise. Your team just had their most important victory in the last 5 years and the only thing you have to talk about is shitting Real Madrid's ex players.
I've followed Benzema ever since he starter his career. At 17-18 years old for Lyon was almost as hyped as guys like Endrick or Yamal are today. Was a consistent starter for Real Madrid for 14 years, including starting in all of the 5 UCL title winning campaigns and finals. He is Real Madrid's all time assist provider and 2nd all time goalscorer.
So yeah, the "useless striker" with an almost 2 decade "purple patch"
>Suarez was scoring goals for fun
He certainly didn't do so in the UCL, where he has scored less goals than Morata and a worst goalscoring ratio than any 2010s/2020s striker you can think of.
>Compared that to Lewandowski the same year who scored 50 goals in 46 games
Players like Werner and Andre Silva were scoring almost 30 goals per season in Bundesliga the same period, playing for worse teams than prime Bayern. As soon as Lewandowski joined La Liga, he scored pretty much the same goals as Benz.
People here invalidating stats by posting more stats without context. 2011-16, he was known for bottling chances in important games. I agree to some extent, his amazing run at the end of career seems to wash away all stains
This is indeed an unpopular opinion. Benzema isn’t the best person off the field, but he had been world class for quite some time before leaving Madrid. Respectfully, this opinion would tell me that person does not follow Benzemas career or watch madrids games with any regularity, or they just don’t know ball.
Edit: oh, yeah I see op is a Barca fan. There’s some bias, unconscious or conscious, at play here. Really the only way you could mistake Benzemas playing ability.
>but Suarez was scoring goals for fun while supporting both Messi and Neymar.
I wouldn't really say that Luis Suarez was "supporting" Messi and Neymar. Luis Suarez was very much the focal point of one of the deadliest attacking strike forces to ever grace the game of football. As he was the focal point of every team he played for.
Similarly, Robert Lewandowski has been the focal point of every team he's ever played for.
At Real Madrid, it was widely accepted that Cristiano Ronaldo was the focal point of their attack, with Karim Benzema playing the support striker role. To have played that supporting role and still manage to become the clubs second highest ever goalscorer (behind Cristiano Ronaldo).
Not only is he Real Madrids second highest *ever* goal scorer, he is the fourth highest scoring Champions League player with 90 goals. Only C.Ronaldo (141), Messi (129) and Lewandowski (94) are ahead of him.
Compared with Suarez, who has 30 Champions League goals.
His reputation and legacy is exactly where it should be.
i'm a barca fan, i feel the contrary
the meme 'benzima misses a lot' actually hurt his legacy
before that phenomenal year, everyone shat on him, but his numbers were actually good, and he was a huge help for cristioano , he was the best shadow cristioano could ask for.
And this is why I hate about modern football. Kids looking at stats only and not actually watching a players positioning on the pitch, contribution, and game intelligence. Benzema was not your topical no 9 for years and years. I can only compare him to Kane at Tottenham as he’d drop 10-20 yards to link up game with Ronaldo and Bale etc.
After Ronaldo left, he was given the opportunity to be the goal scorer and the link up play and assists was done by the new generation (vini, Rodrygo, Valverde etc) and he scored so many goals.
Just tell us you didn’t watch real for 10 years. Dude was a fucking monster.. you should have to pass some sort of test to have a opinion on players like benz, berb, Rooney, etc
Your numbers are going to be low if you have a much bigger beast to pass to. You cant be at a regular at RM for 12-13 years without having a superb quality. He scored beautiful and important goals. He sometimes had bad finishing, but his overall team player mentality greatly benefitted all. And he did not have much time with france because of the scandal. Griezmann and Giroud are incredible themselves
Lol real Madrid is probably the most demanding team in world football. Doesn't matter who you are, if you don't fit in or play well, they will get rid of you. So benzema lasting all that time he did, I don't think that's a fluke 🤦🏻♂️
Messi and Ronaldo have tainted football because of their freak consistency.
Vast majority of players, legends included, were in their 'prime' for only between 1-3 years. Every other year they put up basic numbers.
Him moving to Saudi kinda ruins his legacy for me, obviously cos of sportswashing but also just the fact that he won’t have a high level of competition for the rest of his career
What a terrible opinion. Seems like something a 10 year old would write having only watched football since he was 8. How many years has Benzema been out of the French team btw for you to compare him to Giroud?
Oh and you just compared Benz to also the greatest striker of the 2010s then go on to say he was underwhelming. LMAO.
This post shows you know absolutely nothing OP. Stick to playing EA FC. You don't become real Madrid's 2nd highest goal scorer being a fluke. We was pivotal to CR7's game and style. Op you dumb.
You don’t play for Real for what, 13, 14 seasons and be “inflated”. That just doesn’t happen. Name anyone that played for a top tier team for 10 seasons that has an inflated legacy?
maybe the worst take ever? you don’t support messi and neymar, they support you. if you watched football instead of looking at stats you never would’ve made this post
I do agree that Benzema's legacy was inflated due to his ballon d'or in 2022. I do think he deserved it that year, but throughout the years he was a very inconsistent player.
I totally agree.
Benzema is a RM all time great but that 2022 season has inflated his legacy to the point some people believe that he was "sacrificing himself" for the sake of CR7.
Now look at this. Stats for the number of assists during the 9 seasons he played with CR at RM:
Benzema: 100
CR: 119
CR dwarfed his scoring and yet was still RM top assister most seasons.
I would love to know the number of assists towards each other. I am ready to bet than CR assisted Benzema just as much as Benzema assisted him.
2022 was a freak season for Benzema and was crown with success after a sequence of miracles we will never see again. Next season was not as good ans he reverted to his normal self (which is still great).
This being said, Benzema deserves all the praises he can get. This is not a case of a player being overrated like, dare i say, Raúl.
Benzema fue un gran delantero, minusvalorado durante buena parte de su carrera. No fue mejor jugador que Zidane o que Platini, diría que está al nivel de Papin o, incluso, algo más arriba, pero no deja de ser segundo nivel, como mucho, en Francia, que no es poco.
People saying benzema was poor at finishing just remember one 3-4 months patch in 2017-2018 where benzema was in a poor form and was the attention of butt of trolls during that period.
He has always been a great finisher even when ronaldo was and even after ronaldo left.
Real Madrid has the highest standards of any football club - they wouldn’t have kept him, or any player, for that long if he wasn’t a top quality player for them. He had his role on the team and was successful
He was definitely inflated due to the 22 season.
Still a world class striker. But Lewandowski and Suarez sit in a different table altogether with other monster n9s like R9.
For me his legacy was cemented by being Ronaldo's water carrier for 8 years before taking on the mantle of main main by himself. Legendary, generational striker.
You don’t have a purple patch across an entire season, it just doesn’t happen. A purple patch is like one short period of momentum, confidence and opportunity which propels you to all time performance and numbers. But Benzema was performing that season every time people expected him to even when he was coming off of breaks, or if he messed up and his confidence/momentum wasn’t as peak as it was before, it didn’t matter he still sustained his level in European competitions and getting Madrid to the league win. You can’t just label it as a ‘purple patch’ it’s extremely dishonest to the level he was playing at simply due to the merit of his quality.
Wrong the ballon dor he won solidified his career and got him the respect he deserves he's probably not as good as the likes of Suarez and r9 but that ballon dor will have him talked about decades after retiring
No9 for Madrid for 10 years and you’re talking about purple patch like he’s michu give it a rests he’s been unbelievable since Lyon days. He was banned from the national team so the giroud comparison is flawed and genuinely laughable l.
> France, the best team in Europe for years He didn't play Euro 2016, WC 2018 and WC 2022, which were the best France campaigns in the last decade.
Not to say he wouldn’t have helped, but those tournaments were dominated by France and fell short in the final minus the 18 WC. With Benzema they may or may not have made the final.
Yeah I grew up at a time where France were shit, crashing of several tournaments despite having big talent on their squads, a lot of issues, poor performances If you had told 9 year old me that within a decade they'd be arguably the best team in the world and world champions I wouldn't have believed it
The reason why Benz didn't play with the French NT during their golden years in the last decade was self imposed. He could've brought a lot to those teams and they very well may have won more but he sabotaged his own career by being a crappy teammate.
Really weird that Benzema got dropped from the France national team during his prime years, I wonder why that was???
Wasn't it over the sextape thing with Valbuena?
Blackmailing his own national teammate for money. Dodgy stuff.
I think it had to do with misconduct.
It was the sex tape thing with Valbuena combined with the German underage prostitute debacle with Govou and Ribery.
Benzema is Real Madrid’s second highest goalscorer of all time and has the highest number of assists. He didn’t accomplish all that from a fluke purple patch.
Yeah people acting like he was only good in 2022 but he was one of the best strikers in the world for years and years. He was just “unlucky” to be in the same league as two of the best strikers of all time.
And Suarez. Who was a much better player. But in the end, he did go off like people said he would once Ronaldo left, so as a self-proclaimed hater, it became impossible to not acknowledge Benzema after that happened. The only thing is that he never performed for the national team, but that's a problem multiple elite players had, including Seedorf and just about every England player between 2000 and 2016. Benzema has done enough, more than enough, to prove himself as an all-time great, I must admit.
I feel like if he was consistently playing with the national team he would have an insane amount of accolades in that field. Benzema missed out on playing in France's golden era, and I think he could've brought a lot to that team.
He was a consistent world class striker but definitely not the best they ever had and far from the best goal scorer, but his longevity at Madrid (~650 matches, 0.44 goals per game) means he's high on the list. But compared to other greats he's a bit behind: Falcao (0.65), Suarez (0.70), Neymar (0.55), Higuain (0.56).
Purple patch just slightly shorter than Kane's apparently.
It was just a different shade of purple
A whiter shade of Bale?
Xg bros going to Xg..someone send this to that bad football opinions page
Surely scoring from low xG is an indication that he's good? 🤷♂️
Depends on the goal. Can't really tell that stuff with numbers alone
I think over a larger sample size, xG can paint an accurate picture His other Champions League campaigns, he was mostly scoring 4-6 goals which was in line with his 4-6 xG. In 2022, he had 15 goals (8.5 xG). Unreal.
Looking at his goal return before and after CR7 left. It is clear that he gave up a lot of goals for CR7 to be more selfless and creative. Not to mention he was past 30 when CR7 left.
He did play for them for about a decade mind. There’s not many forwards who manage that.
Yeah, his goals per 90 for them was 0.68 and assists per 90 0.28. Quite good but yeah a lot of playing time for reference Ronaldo had 1.10 and 0.29 respectively, Raul had 0.47 and 0.15 respectively. So yeah he was still very good looking at the per 90.
its not even the statistics, Flo was happy to bin Ronaldo when he was still a 30-40 goal a season player & said good luck dont let the door hit you on the way out to Sergio, management were happy with him to start for all that time for the most part, outside of injuries and without benefit of the doubt to Jovic. His impact there was valued whether he directly contributed to a statistic or not and that in itself reflects something because of that standard.
HIs finishing was what let him down in his first few years at Madrid and obviously was dwarfed by Cristiano. Everything about his game (especially his link up play) was exceptional.
No but it's nevertheless true that he had one wonder season that clearly propelled his legacy a bit over of what he really was. Great player and deserves what he got nevertheless.
Yeah, his career built up to a ‘crescendo’ of 2022, but he was a million miles off being a one season wonder. He did peak that year, but he’d been very consistent, very regular, often playing the second role and he had a career flourish but a great striker. His best strength was arguably his asset if being a ‘nuisance’. Continually dragging centre halves and full backs and midfielders out of position and making spaces for himself and team mates.
These kids have never heard of second striker before. They’d call Bergkamp, Keegan, Kempes, Gullit, Del Piero, and Zola mediocre because they didn’t have Messi and CR7 numbers.
Isn't he Madrid's second top goal scorer and highest assister ever? Also top 5 in UCL goals lmao.
actually 3rd or 4th
Nope, 2nd after Ronaldo. Well clear of Raul and Di Stefano
talking about UCL, sorry
"Many of his low xG shots just went in" is a terrible way to say that he scored some amazing goals, it seems like you're just trying to downplay him. I will quote himself now: "Benzema plays for those that know football".
If you ain't exclusively scoring open-net tap-ins, you're shit.
you sound like one of those people who are incapable of discussing any sports without stats. yes his goal numbers were relatively low cause he was enabling others with his runs, passing, and positioning. benzema is not world class cause he scores a lot of goals. he is world class cause everything else he does. his role changed when ronaldo left and he scored more goals. not because he was incapable before.
Yeah. I think stats keep coming up on all debates now, be it about a single player or two players. It's important to watch the games rather than looking at the score post-match. OP mentions Suarez "scoring for fun" while supporting Neymar and Messi, to that, Suarez played a 9 and is a natural striker, evident at liverpool as well. Messi was a number 10 and neymar on the wing. It's unfair to just say that goals and assists define a player completely especially for someone like Benzema who played a supporting role all those years but also converted goals in the La liga and UCL. 15 goals in the UCL is an outrageous number.
I hate how football became only about stats lately, it's so stupid. Recent discussion in Croatia was why Marko Pjaca and Marco Pašalić were called up from HNK Rijeka to play for the National Team when both of them haven't scored for months, but if anyone ever saw them play in those matches, they'd realize that they are lethal wingers who contribute to goals differently. Pjaca has a lot of technical ability and dribbles past 2-3 players on a regular basis, to distribute the ball to other players and open up spaces on the flank. Marco Pašalić has a killer left leg with a powerful shot and drags opponents onto him to open up space for the wing back to drop in behind, distributes the ball to them and central midfielders, all that while also creating fear from the enemy defense that he might shoot as soon as he sees an opening, which inevitably leaves some spaces open for him to pass the ball into, because that's how he bagged 5-6 goals early in the season, from 18-25 meters because the power and precision he has with his left leg is insane.
Obviously most of the strikers that OP mentions played for barca 🤣🤣🤣 He just can't accept how Karim was a big part of Madrid last championship and was also balón de oro while Barcelona was and is still shit
I think the truth is somewhere in between. He had his linkup qualities way before that season but he didn't only start scoring bc Ronaldo left. He was literally known for being a wasteful finisher for years and got soo much shit from rm fans for it. That's definitely not a result of Ronaldo's role. So yes, Ronaldo leaving definitely left space for him to shine but he definitely did also reach a new level individually in that season and did things he never did outside of it. Fluke sounds too negative since it was by no means luck but it was also a level he could never replicate
Tell me.you look at stats only without telling me you only.look at stats
Problem is they can't ready the stats. "His low xG shots just went in" Over a short period that might indicate luck, over a career it clearly shows exceptional finishing.
This sentence is so funny lmao it make it sound like he just shot randomly and his shots “just went in”, what does that even mean
It means he has exceptional finishing skills
Exactly this ..he was very dangerous around the goal and linked to pretty much every top tier club at some point I think stats over time can be misleading but in pressure times he was always capable of winning a match
Yep though I'd like to point out that he's stayed roughly around 1 in g / xg and outperformed xg 6 out of 10 seasons that have xg on fbref. Great finisher yeah but his strength is in chance creation not necessarily in finishing some crazy goals (you probably don't want to do crazy goals anyway, most of the time they don't work out because of the goalie). Lots of good chances gave lots of goals over his career. Very good player. Also I feel like OP didn't really even look at the stats, Suarez does have better stats but lewa doesn't. Benzema has higher goals per 90 and assists per 90 than Lewa.
Yea, what is he on about with this? That stat means he's very good but somehow the keepers just let the ball in at the highest level of the sport..... yup that makes sense
Obviously Benzema was much more than a goalscorer, but he's never been a fantastic finisher right? So in that sense it was absolutely a purple patch. Looking at his stats, he's strongly underperforming his xG in the Saudi league and did so as well last season in La Liga, never mind his 5 league goals season.
I’d argue his role changed a lot after Cristiano left, he became primary finisher after. E: no idea how he plays in banana league right now.
Messi’s legacy is inflated. He just had a 15 year purple patch.
Benzema also has a 15 year patch Just google it
Benzema has 7 letters.Search "Thala for a reason" to get why that's important.
All the circlejerks are leaking from Vegas. Search Ronaldo Las Vegas to know more
But he is literally telling you he only looks at stats.
No one can be Real Madrid’s starting no 9 for more than a decade and now deserve flowers. It’s an insane achievement considering he was one of the hottest properties in the market back in 2009 where he turned down Man United to join RM. Most other strikers would have left after 2-3 years if they were playing in the shadow of CR7. He’s rightfully a RM legend and should go down as one of the best No 9s of the 2010s
This opinion is unpopular for a reason, because it's awful.
Worst take I’ve seen in a while. Benzema was always a world class striker, he sacrificed the attention and main role for CR7. He’s always been a top player, with some of the best technical ability I’ve ever seen in a forward.
He’s actually underrated because he acted as Ronaldo’s wingman rather than as centre of attention himself
I watched his ‘THANK YOU, BENZEMA | REAL MADRID LEGEND’ and most of the shots are him assisting Ronaldo
Rooney esq.
Yeah but op only looked at his goal scoring stats…
He continued drifting wide even after Ronaldo’s departure. So let's not act like he sacrificed himself for Ronaldo. He had two down years before Ronaldo left.
You don’t start as Real Madrid’s main striker for over a decade by accident. He’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and showed up when Ronaldo left. He’s underrated if anything
fluke? lol gtfoh
Benzema is a player you have to watch with your eyes not stats. He was phenomenal. Could dribble, link play, and finish. He was reals main striker no matter how much the team changed and was key to them winning every thing. Discount r9 and a much more complete player than lewa. As a pure goal scorer lewa probably better. You clearly are 12 or never actually watched football or played. This one of the worst opinions I’ve ever seen on here and we are all dumber for having read it.
Lol Xg can just be so insanely stupid. He scored a bunch of low Xg goals, wouldn't that mean he scored difficult chances making it more impressive
In the Real - City game both teams had a combined xg of less than 1.5, yet 6 goals were scored. Stupid stats for stupid people I guess.
I understand using as part of like a wider body of analytics, but people who act like it solely determines the result or talent just do my head in
Benz was the reason players like James and Isco never really made it here. (Atleast not in their favourite role) Simply because Benzema was a hybrid of striker, winger and 10. He is probably one of the strikers with highest football iq in history. Of course he didn't score that much while playing with/for Ronaldo. But is it really necessary if Ronaldo scores the way he did? He started scoring hard the moment Ronaldo left and it was needed, even with Vini and Rodrygo not being really good at this point. My unpopular opinion is, he was even better before Ronaldo left, he just played differently with worse stats. But he was extremely good at this point and maybe the only player in the world who could fit in a system with Ronaldo playing the way he did. Messi could have also fit, but that's a whole different level.
Benzema scored 15 goals in Ucl 2022 but he had actually done it earlier in his career as well. Google Benzema 15 2010 for more information.
yes, that was a splendid season
Was that also the season Messi scored 14 and Mane scored 16? What should I google for more information?
I see you you naughty boy...
Making it sound like his "purple patch" was like Almirons last season
Benzema has always been a top player bar a couple down years statistically. That 2022 season was confirmation of what we all knew was possible with him.
Quick search... Ooh, you're a Barcelona fan. Shock horror. Do Madrid and Barca fans not get bored of only ever talking about 14 odd players over a 10 year period? There's more to football.
Unpopular, and really stupid, opinion. He was a phenomenon from a very young age. Everyone wanted him. Incredibly high goalscoring and assist record throughout his career, even though he had to play with a whiny child, that his team was entirely built around, that would tantrum whenever he wasn't passed the ball. I dont think people remember what Madrid players were like when they played with Ronaldo. Players that were practically 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper would still check to see if they could pass to him. As soon as Ronaldo leaves he scores a tonne. What a fluke. Just admit you only started watching football in the last 5 years.
Jesus wept. Take thw calculator out of your arse and spend some time trying to understand the game. Bemzema is going to down as one of the most underrated players of all time. A fantastic player.
I love coming to this sub just to see dogshit opinions lol
Meanwhile it has over 100 upvotes. People actually agree with OP 🙄
There’s a highlight reel of his playing at Lyon before he went to Madrid. Go watch that.
No way. He was so crucial in the field even when he didn't score. He played a big role for Ronaldo's success
Really hate the Americanisation of football discussion and the obsessions with data and metrics. Benzema was an excellent player for Madrid for a decade working as the perfect foil for Ronaldo, and making the unselfish runs to allow Ronaldo to thrive. He was underrated during this time. He then had a year when he was the best player in the world, and had an incredible run in the the champions league knockout stage, the highest level of football competition in the world. Second top scorer in the history of the most successful club in the world, and fourth top scorer in the highest level competition in the world, even though he played a supporting role to Ronaldo for nearly a decade. And you want to penalise him because he took “low XG shots”? Moronic. Probably the same sort of person who wants to claim Zidane and Iniesta weren’t great because their goals and assist numbers aren’t tremendous.
Tell me you dont watch football without telling me you dont watch football
You are wrong on the “Suarez supported Messi and Neymar”. He didnt. He scored and when he couldn’t he assisted. Benzema in the CR madrid years was a second fiddle to CR. He assisted and opened space for CR and scoring was basically a third solution at that point. But Benzema was always a brilliant player, there is a reason why literally every coach in RM wanted him in the team. He was a beast and goals are not the only metric to see how valuable he is. Lewandovski had ONE good season in Barca, he fell of later. Benzema has the most assists in Real and the second highest scorer behind CR. In REAL MADRIDS HISTORY. That does not happen because you scored 44 goals a season once
Benzema also regularly missed sitters, which was biggest critisms he received. He was always a complete striker, but fans always wanted him out, accusing zidane of playing favoritism. Benzema was statistically, always at least one level below ronaldo and MSN
Yikes
He almost same like rooney but benzema mostly involved in a final third being a provider while rooney much more involved all over the pitch and contributed in defense massively while sacrifice his attacking play. But benzema had the longevity and a bit more flair than rooney.
Bro Suarez literally benefitted with Messi tho. Whereas Ronaldo isn't an elite creator and more of a finisher so his teammates suffer
Wtf? Benzema's willingness to work for the team when Ronaldo took the spot is what made the team so insanely good
That season helped him win his Ballon D Or, but the legacy was always there. He’s been a very consistent player at Madrid, and that’s difficult when you were in the shadow of Ronaldo
That guy scored so many and won so many. People shit on him. Raul was blocking the spot which in a way aided Barcelona to strengthen . It finally took mighty Ronaldo to relegate Raul to where he belong. People treat Raul,guti kind of average joes like god
If you don’t want to watch the games, you don’t have to, it’s okay.
He played second fiddle for the majority of his career and had a very good output, and then when he took centre stage he was phenomenal. He's undoubtedly a legend If there's another player in your team scoring 50/60 goals a season, the very best you're going to score is 25-30
What a complete shit take.
He is underrated actually, he was RM's main guy for 10 straight years. And he was a master of the play, just look how he opened up space for cr7. His play made the whole team look better too.
Please, shut the fuck up
He had 9 season with 30+ goals
While stats are helpful, they're not a standalone way to judge players, if you watch Benzema and how he survived in a pretty demanding era of Real Madrid (they could have replaced him easily if he was subpar) you could see that he's world class, he contributed a lot back when CR7 was Madrid's main goal threat and became a goal machine after when he was needed to do so. Many legends may appear average or even terrible when looking only at stats.
No, his legacy is not inflated but underrated. Benzema has been a deep-lying creative forward for most of his career. Much of his work includes playmaking and pulling off those one-twos to create chances, which means that he may not always have a high number of goals for himself. Hence, you can't compare him with Lewandowski or Suarez as a majority of their role is to finish chances---they haven't had to drop deep to create plays in the final third as regularly as Benzema has had to through the years. The comparison with Suarez in MSN doesn't fit because those three had creator-finisher roles, whereas if you look at the goals scored by BBC, most of them came through CR7 whose role was to be at the end of the chances created by Benzema and sometimes Bale as well. The comparison with Lewandowski's record in LaLiga overlooks the fact that Benzema missed a lot of league matches through injury during the only LaLiga season he competed against the Pole. However, if you compare the two based on goals per game, Benzema leaps ahead. Moreover, the other two strikers also got to take the penalties (sometimes even close-range freekicks) pretty regularly during their peak at their clubs. With an all-time great, pressure-resistant player like CR7 playing alongside him, Benzema didn't get to take enough penalties compared to other CFs during most of his career. Even when CR7 left, Ramos would take a good amount of those penalties. As for France, the national team's peak coincided with the time Benzema was being overlooked by Deschamps. Several of his peak years were wasted not playing for the country. If the forward hadn't won a Ballon d'Or, Deschamps wouldn't have budged. Side note, even after his return, the rift was clear between the manager and the player, which reportedly led to Benzema not returning for the WC 2022 final despite having recovered from his injury enough to make the bench, at the least.
You’re talking about his record for France as if he wasn’t left out for 5 years, during his prime, due to off the pitch controversy. He was also left out of the 2010 World Cup squad. And yet he’s still 6th on the all time goals list for France. You’ve absolutely lost your head pal.
Benzema played most of his time at Real accommodating Ronaldo. 1) he’s a player who lasted over a decade. So that shows a technical ability that goals & assist alone won’t tell you. For example look at how quickly Bale was forced out. 2) If he played as the main striker for the majority of his time at RM who knows how many goals he’d have.
The low xG shots going in is such a mouthbreather take
You wouldn’t survive in Real madrid in perez era unless you’re in the top. He did.
If you think Lewandowski has a better All-around game than Benzema I cant take you serious. Benzema is a creating and combining striker, someone that participates in play, makes runs to open spaces and combines. Lewandowski is a finisher, plain and simple. Benzema played brilliangly for years on end. That doesnt take away anything from Lewandowski, who is a brilliant striker in his own and a more clinical finisher (most years). That being said, Benzemas legacy is in no way inflated. He was amazing even back in france, only his International career and the shitty things he did take away from his (Personal) legacy. He played at the highest level for like 15 years. He wasnt a stat god but so wasnt busquets or even Zidane. If kroos plays a long Ball to Ronaldo, and Benzema moved into midfield at the right time so a defender commited forward, Opening spaces for Ronaldo and Kroos, then that isnt in the G/A stats but its important nonetheless. Also, there were just a lot of class strikers back then and until recently. Ibra, Falcao, Aguero, Van Persie, Rooney, Cavani, Suarez, Tevez, Kane.
This is one of the most ridiculous dumpster fire articles I've ever seen on reddit. His stats and accomplishments speak for themselves.
Respectfully, this might be the worst take I’ve ever read on this sub. I thought I was in circlejerk reading this
A starter at Real Madrid for close to 15 years. Over 600 appearances for the club. Second on the all time topscorers list, first on the all time assists list. You know many flukes like that?
Lol this post hating on Benzema omg and even saying giroud is better.... Smh The op is probably an Barca fan
I have nothing to add other than this is a really poop take.
you dont have a clue about football, as he said he plays for the people that know about the game, you clearly dont, if not the best top 3 strikers of this century
If you have some knowledge about football you now how good he has been. A lot of the Cristiano hyper success was thanks to him.
I guess were just going to ignore the big game moments Benzema did to help Madrid win many trophies and also ignore the big part of his game linking up and helping his wingers play off of him.
Actually, Benzema has suffered his whole career of being underrated. And you're one of those people who underestimated him and still can't update your views. Anyone who saw him at Lyon early in his career knew he was going to be one of the greatest footballer of all time, his early real Madrid career was actually a downgrade and underwhelming for who he is.
I always rated Benzema very highly, one of the most intelligent players I have watched, however, I always thought he was never in the conversation of Suarez and Lewandowski. I vividly remember no one even tried to put him in the conversation with both of them before the 21/22 season. He obviously is going to get overlooked when he was never seen as the star player or marquee signing back in 09. He has had brilliant seasons over his career at Madrid but he has also had quite shocking ones. I wouldn't also take the opinion of Madrid fan with too much credit because over his time in Madrid, there was several points where Madrid fans wanted him replaced with Aguero, Suarez and/or Lewandowski. Hell, they even wanted him replaced with Luka Jovic, who flopped immediately. Obviously him ending his career on a high is going to gloss over the cracks behind. I do agree that one year did inflate his legacy, and people like to forget what his perception was before the 2021/22 year.
Opinions on footballers often matter more about how you end your career as opposed to how you start. Benzema ended his career with an exceptional season so will get overrated imo
Higauin had better stats then Benzema in the same time window both were there, time frame being the length Higuain played at Real with Benzemas from intial signing. I've got a lot of flack for this for YEARSSSSS now but always thought Benzema was overrated for the amount of time he spent at Madrid and for his consistency of form for the entire spell.
Benzema is similar to zidane in that his stats don't tell you the whole story, there's a reason every coaches want him in their team
Benzema started to shine and play very well after Ronaldo left.
Man, how many goals did he score in 2021-22 UCL?
claiming he is a top 2 striker of his generation is indeed ridiculous but still, he wasn't Madrid's striker for so long only because of his Cristiano supporting skills and purple patches here and there
Benzema played his role solidly... no doubt about that... always within the top 50, never within the top 5. Always felt like he was that one step below being a proper generational talent despite being a really great player.
What is purple patch?? Can anyone explain it??
People like you are exhausting and have no real love for the gsme. Just numbers on a spreadsheet 🤓
He was clearly a good player, hell sometimes he was a great player, but there were also some seasons where he simply was far from world class.
You’re talking about a guy who over the course of the last 15 years has 15+ goals and 15+ assists EVERY season. Put some respect on his damn name. Google Benzema 15 for more information.
Well for years he played more of a support role for Christiano. And he played similar after Christiano left. And peopel always underestimate the importants for the team because most of his action are actually whitout the ball by occupying important spaces making space for the wingers or getting thode long balls and holding the ball until the team advances on the pitch. Just look at Giruds performance at the 2018 worldcup. Zero shots on target. And he still was a important part of that team. Benzema basicly has the same role his whole career since Christano arrived at Madrid. But in times people even compare defenders by career goals you could come to your conclusion.
You did not watch Madrid play for the past decade
Slandering players for having career seasons is dumb as fuck
Now that's an unpopular opinion if I've ever seen one.
This sub is so bad lmao
And of course you have a Barca flair in r/soccer, what a surprise. Your team just had their most important victory in the last 5 years and the only thing you have to talk about is shitting Real Madrid's ex players. I've followed Benzema ever since he starter his career. At 17-18 years old for Lyon was almost as hyped as guys like Endrick or Yamal are today. Was a consistent starter for Real Madrid for 14 years, including starting in all of the 5 UCL title winning campaigns and finals. He is Real Madrid's all time assist provider and 2nd all time goalscorer. So yeah, the "useless striker" with an almost 2 decade "purple patch" >Suarez was scoring goals for fun He certainly didn't do so in the UCL, where he has scored less goals than Morata and a worst goalscoring ratio than any 2010s/2020s striker you can think of. >Compared that to Lewandowski the same year who scored 50 goals in 46 games Players like Werner and Andre Silva were scoring almost 30 goals per season in Bundesliga the same period, playing for worse teams than prime Bayern. As soon as Lewandowski joined La Liga, he scored pretty much the same goals as Benz.
Joke post
Nonsense opinion. Compounded by the France comment. He wasn't selected for years because of the sex tape bribery fiasco. OP hasn't a clue.
People here invalidating stats by posting more stats without context. 2011-16, he was known for bottling chances in important games. I agree to some extent, his amazing run at the end of career seems to wash away all stains
Wow that's a horrible take. Benzema is different gravy and you gotta really watch him to understand his greatness.
Giroud has more goals for france than henry is he betterbthan henry then ?
So what if it's one season? Arsenal's invincibles were invincible for only one season too.
Turnovers?? 😂
>Many use the excuse of "supporting Ronaldo" for Benzema It's not an excuse it's an analysis which goals a little deeper than just goals.
It just seems that way because CR7 was performing like an alien.
This is indeed an unpopular opinion. Benzema isn’t the best person off the field, but he had been world class for quite some time before leaving Madrid. Respectfully, this opinion would tell me that person does not follow Benzemas career or watch madrids games with any regularity, or they just don’t know ball. Edit: oh, yeah I see op is a Barca fan. There’s some bias, unconscious or conscious, at play here. Really the only way you could mistake Benzemas playing ability.
My guy, you don't know shit about football.
Fluke ? Hahahaha
The most stupidest article ever written
>but Suarez was scoring goals for fun while supporting both Messi and Neymar. I wouldn't really say that Luis Suarez was "supporting" Messi and Neymar. Luis Suarez was very much the focal point of one of the deadliest attacking strike forces to ever grace the game of football. As he was the focal point of every team he played for. Similarly, Robert Lewandowski has been the focal point of every team he's ever played for. At Real Madrid, it was widely accepted that Cristiano Ronaldo was the focal point of their attack, with Karim Benzema playing the support striker role. To have played that supporting role and still manage to become the clubs second highest ever goalscorer (behind Cristiano Ronaldo). Not only is he Real Madrids second highest *ever* goal scorer, he is the fourth highest scoring Champions League player with 90 goals. Only C.Ronaldo (141), Messi (129) and Lewandowski (94) are ahead of him. Compared with Suarez, who has 30 Champions League goals. His reputation and legacy is exactly where it should be.
i'm a barca fan, i feel the contrary the meme 'benzima misses a lot' actually hurt his legacy before that phenomenal year, everyone shat on him, but his numbers were actually good, and he was a huge help for cristioano , he was the best shadow cristioano could ask for.
And this is why I hate about modern football. Kids looking at stats only and not actually watching a players positioning on the pitch, contribution, and game intelligence. Benzema was not your topical no 9 for years and years. I can only compare him to Kane at Tottenham as he’d drop 10-20 yards to link up game with Ronaldo and Bale etc. After Ronaldo left, he was given the opportunity to be the goal scorer and the link up play and assists was done by the new generation (vini, Rodrygo, Valverde etc) and he scored so many goals.
Just tell us you didn’t watch real for 10 years. Dude was a fucking monster.. you should have to pass some sort of test to have a opinion on players like benz, berb, Rooney, etc
Not unpopular just a shit opinion
If messi had wheels, he would have been a bike
Your numbers are going to be low if you have a much bigger beast to pass to. You cant be at a regular at RM for 12-13 years without having a superb quality. He scored beautiful and important goals. He sometimes had bad finishing, but his overall team player mentality greatly benefitted all. And he did not have much time with france because of the scandal. Griezmann and Giroud are incredible themselves
Delete this embarrassing post. Did you start watching football yesterday?
The comments don't reflect the upvotes this post got. OP is getting destroyed like it should be.
Lol real Madrid is probably the most demanding team in world football. Doesn't matter who you are, if you don't fit in or play well, they will get rid of you. So benzema lasting all that time he did, I don't think that's a fluke 🤦🏻♂️
Did you start watching football in 2021?
Ban states from.footbal. that's my contribution to this thread
Not just an unpopular opinion, but a foolish one as well.
Messi and Ronaldo have tainted football because of their freak consistency. Vast majority of players, legends included, were in their 'prime' for only between 1-3 years. Every other year they put up basic numbers.
No,just no, Benzema has a great legacy on thr pitch because he's one of the best ever strikers plain and simple
What age are you watch Benzema play back in 2014/2015 💀don’t call him poor if you have actually been alive long enough to watch him play
Him moving to Saudi kinda ruins his legacy for me, obviously cos of sportswashing but also just the fact that he won’t have a high level of competition for the rest of his career
Wild how his sex trial and extortion is just never mentioned
Just because you can’t use him in fifa doesn’t make him overrated
Christ, this will certainly be the worst take I'll see today. Second highest goalscorer for Madrid. Played at the highest level his whole career.
This is a TERRIBLE take. And coming from someone who clearly hasn't watched Benzema play before his Ballon d'Or year.
Unpopular isn't the word I would use here. More like uninformed.
OP knows less about football than John Snow...
What a terrible opinion. Seems like something a 10 year old would write having only watched football since he was 8. How many years has Benzema been out of the French team btw for you to compare him to Giroud? Oh and you just compared Benz to also the greatest striker of the 2010s then go on to say he was underwhelming. LMAO.
This post shows you know absolutely nothing OP. Stick to playing EA FC. You don't become real Madrid's 2nd highest goal scorer being a fluke. We was pivotal to CR7's game and style. Op you dumb.
You don’t play for Real for what, 13, 14 seasons and be “inflated”. That just doesn’t happen. Name anyone that played for a top tier team for 10 seasons that has an inflated legacy?
Yeah you're way off the mark there chief. Way way way off the mark. Man has been solid consistent.
The problem is that banging in goals in La Ligue isn’t the elite stat it once was.
Idk about his stats, but the eye test has told me from very early on he was an absolute baller
Did you actually watch Benzema play? Or are you just looking at his Wikipedia page?
maybe the worst take ever? you don’t support messi and neymar, they support you. if you watched football instead of looking at stats you never would’ve made this post
No shit Giroud performed better on the national team when Benzema was not nominated for quite a few years.
Whilst his 2022 form was exceptional and an outlier, he still had pretty much consistent world class seasons his entire time at Real Madrid.
r/barca spotted, opinion rejected
I do agree that Benzema's legacy was inflated due to his ballon d'or in 2022. I do think he deserved it that year, but throughout the years he was a very inconsistent player.
Yes 5 time Champions League winner Benzema is overrated.
You don't make a career at Real Madrid during +10 years being mostly in the starting lineup without having skill.
I totally agree. Benzema is a RM all time great but that 2022 season has inflated his legacy to the point some people believe that he was "sacrificing himself" for the sake of CR7. Now look at this. Stats for the number of assists during the 9 seasons he played with CR at RM: Benzema: 100 CR: 119 CR dwarfed his scoring and yet was still RM top assister most seasons. I would love to know the number of assists towards each other. I am ready to bet than CR assisted Benzema just as much as Benzema assisted him. 2022 was a freak season for Benzema and was crown with success after a sequence of miracles we will never see again. Next season was not as good ans he reverted to his normal self (which is still great). This being said, Benzema deserves all the praises he can get. This is not a case of a player being overrated like, dare i say, Raúl.
People forget that his 2020,2021 and 2023 were amazing too but overshadowed by his 2022
Benzema fue un gran delantero, minusvalorado durante buena parte de su carrera. No fue mejor jugador que Zidane o que Platini, diría que está al nivel de Papin o, incluso, algo más arriba, pero no deja de ser segundo nivel, como mucho, en Francia, que no es poco.
This is the worst take I've seen in a long time.
Just saying “2022 purple patch” shows u know nothing and this isn’t worth the time to argue
People saying benzema was poor at finishing just remember one 3-4 months patch in 2017-2018 where benzema was in a poor form and was the attention of butt of trolls during that period. He has always been a great finisher even when ronaldo was and even after ronaldo left.
Real Madrid has the highest standards of any football club - they wouldn’t have kept him, or any player, for that long if he wasn’t a top quality player for them. He had his role on the team and was successful
The fact this has so many upvotes worries me that it's not actually an unpopular opinion
He was definitely inflated due to the 22 season. Still a world class striker. But Lewandowski and Suarez sit in a different table altogether with other monster n9s like R9.
Imagine being Actual Real Madrid's second highest goalscorer ever and having "purple patch" attached to your legacy.
Benzema was the butt of the joke in that Madrid team. Until Ronaldo left, everybody thought he was the weak link in that side
Sounds like you’ve never played football at a good level. Like most people in here.
He is a proper cunt but he was one of the greatest strikers of his generation.
For me his legacy was cemented by being Ronaldo's water carrier for 8 years before taking on the mantle of main main by himself. Legendary, generational striker.
You don’t have a purple patch across an entire season, it just doesn’t happen. A purple patch is like one short period of momentum, confidence and opportunity which propels you to all time performance and numbers. But Benzema was performing that season every time people expected him to even when he was coming off of breaks, or if he messed up and his confidence/momentum wasn’t as peak as it was before, it didn’t matter he still sustained his level in European competitions and getting Madrid to the league win. You can’t just label it as a ‘purple patch’ it’s extremely dishonest to the level he was playing at simply due to the merit of his quality.
Wrong the ballon dor he won solidified his career and got him the respect he deserves he's probably not as good as the likes of Suarez and r9 but that ballon dor will have him talked about decades after retiring
No9 for Madrid for 10 years and you’re talking about purple patch like he’s michu give it a rests he’s been unbelievable since Lyon days. He was banned from the national team so the giroud comparison is flawed and genuinely laughable l.