To be called the best player to be ever produced by your nation, is something any footballer can be proud of. Even though Karim Benzema hasn’t gotten to play much for the French national team, fans regard his exploits of the highest value.
Karim Benzema was born in France in 1987 and started his professional football career with Olympique Lyonnais in 2005. He played for the French club for five years, during which he won four Ligue 1 titles and was the league’s top scorer in the 2007-08 season. In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid, one of the most successful clubs in the world, where he has been playing ever since.
Since joining Real Madrid, Karim Benzema has won numerous titles, including five Champions League trophies, five FIFA Club World Cups, and four UEFA Super Cups. He has also been an important player for the French national team, scoring 37 goals in 97 appearances.
He has aged like fine wine, to say the least, and here are some of the records he has set in his remarkable football career so far.
Most decorated French player of all time
It’s been 14 seasons since Karim Benzema joined Real Madrid from Lyon. It has truly been a delight to watch him hold up the ball, link up with his teammates and score classic goals and evolve into one of the best strikers of his generation.
The French superstar has won plenty of silverware whilst playing for top clubs and the French national team.
Benzema is the first ever French player to win the Champions League five times. In his club career, he has won La Liga and Ligue 1 four times.
He won the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League with France. With 30 trophies to his name, Benzema is the most decorated French player of all time.
Benzema is Real Madrid’s second all-time top scorer
This record was broken at the very beginning of the 2022/23 season. Real Madrid faced Oliver Glasner led Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup finals, where Los Blancos comfortably brushed aside the Europa League winners.
Although what was special about that night was Benzema’s record-breaking moment. The Frenchman scored his 324th goal for the club, overtaking Raul’s 323 between 1994 and 2010. Now only Cristiano Ronaldo sits ahead of him on the list of Real Madrid goalscorers, with 451.
They love cooking Premier League clubs ♨🌶#Messi #Benzema #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/r8RqQmnSAi
— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) April 13, 2023
First French player to win the Golden Boot in UCL era
Real Madrid’s Champions League journey was an entertaining one full of twists and dramatic comebacks.
Benzema played a critical role in their amazing run as he, more often than not, orchestrated these comebacks through his astounding goal-scoring exploits.
The Real Madrid striker scored 15 goals in the Champions League last season, becoming the first-ever French player to win the Golden Boot. Ever since the European Cup was named the Champions League in 1992, no player of French origin has won the Golden Boot in the competition.
Most goals by a French player in football history
Thiery Henry was the holder of this record before a certain Karim Benzema came in and shattered it for fun. Henry did not start his career with serious goal-scoring exploits while he was at Monaco and Juventus. But it was at Arsenal where he really began to come into his stride, eventually ending his career with 411 goals.
Benzema on the other hand broke this record, while playing fewer matches and still going strong at the age of 35 with 432 goals to his name at the time of writing.
Oldest player to score a UCL hattrick
It was the round of 16 of the 2021-22 Champions League. Real Madrid were up against Paris Saint-Germain. After a 1-0 loss in the away leg, Los Blancos had a daunting task in the second leg.
Karim Benzema stepped up to the occasion perfectly to ensure a 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu. Interestingly, all three goals were scored by the Frenchman in the second half after Madrid went into the break 1-0 down courtesy a fine Kylian Mbappe strike.
By doing so, Benzema not only helped Madrid qualify for the quarter-finals but also became the oldest player to score a Champions League hat-trick. At 34 years and 80 days, the Real Madrid striker surpassed the record previously held by Olivier Giroud, who scored a triple at the age of 34 years and 63 days.
Scoring in most consecutive UCL seasons
Karim Benzema is one of the best players of his time. The Frenchman has scored a plethora of goals in his career. But, more impressive than that is his longevity. He’s scored in 18 consecutive UEFA Champions League seasons – the joint-most.
The French international has scored for Real Madrid and Olympique Lyon in the competition. He has netted from the 2005/06 to 2022/23 season. This record is only equalled by Lionel Messi.
Most goals against English teams in a UCL campaign
The Frenchman scored seven goals in total against Chelsea and Manchester City in the 2021-22 Champions League.
This helped the Real Madrid superstar record the most goals scored by a footballer against English teams in a Champions League campaign. He scored four times against Chelsea, which not only saw him score a hat-trick but also become the first player to score a European hat-trick against the Blues – another record in itself.
His performance against Manchester City wasn’t bad either as he scored thrice over two legs. It was a stellar achievement for the 2021-22 Champions League Player of the Season to score against two of the Premier League’s top teams.
Most goals by a Frenchman in single UCL season
Karim Benzema holds the record for scoring the most goals by a French player in the UEFA Champions League. The Real Madrid man has enjoyed his exploits at Real Madrid every season in front of goal.
The striker’s tally of 15 is the highest by a Frenchman in the UEFA Champions League. No other footballer from the country has managed to hit the double-figure mark in the Champions League. Just Fontaine scored 10 goals in the 1958/59 season in the European Cup. This was before the competition was rebranded.