Cristiano Ronaldo Told He Should 'Pray In The Morning And Say Thank You' For Karim Benzema
"Benzema is a goalscoring centre forward. But he’s also Zidane; he’s a 9, he’s a ten and a nine and a half.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he should "pray in the morning and say thank you" for Karim Benzema.
It was a partnership that will be remembered for years to come. Benzema, who rarely got the credit he deserved at the time, scored 155 goals in 355 games when he played alongside Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer in the Spanish capital.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, netted 371 times in those 355 games - a quite staggering record considering. But looking back, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's achievements at Los Blancos somewhat overshadowed the efforts of strike partner Benzema.
Ronaldo spent a total of nine years in Madrid and during that trophy-laden spell, where he lifted four Champions League titles and four Ballon d'Ors, Karim Benzema provided a total of 47 assists for the prolific forward between 2009 and 2018.
It means Benzema has provided the most assists for Ronaldo in his career to date.
The Frenchman has, however, flourished since his former strike partner left for Juventus in 2018.
In fact, the France international has found the net 124 times in 183 matches for Madrid since Ronaldo's Los Blancos departure, which is more than the 37-year-old's tally of 119 for Juventus and Manchester United.
Benzema has been in terrific form for club and country of late, and former Italy international Antonio Cassano, who spent two years at Real, believes Ronaldo has to "pray in the morning and say thank you" for his former strike partner's contribution to his career.
"In football, there are not only titles and goals, Zidane scored few goals, but he is one of the greatest in history, Riquelme too," Cassano said to Bobo TV. "Goals are useful, titles are useful, but they are not the fundamental things.
"Cristiano Ronaldo has to pray in the morning and say, 'Thank you, Benzema, that you played with me'. Benzema, this year and last year, has scored 50 goals and assists this year and last year over 30 goals.
"Ronaldo scores and will always score, but he's a different player; Benzema is a goalscoring centre forward. But he's also Zidane; he's a 9, he's a ten and a nine and a half."
Benzema, who has scored 37 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions this season, has been touted for the Ballon d'Or by former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand after arguably the best season of his career to date, aged 34.
"Karim Benzema, if they're not engraving his name on the Ballon d'Or I'll be surprised," he told BT Sport after last week's Man of the Match performance against Chelsea in the Champions League.
"He's been magic. In the last tie, he was magnificent and grabbed a hat-trick. Tonight he's done the same and got another hat-trick.
"This man made the difference. Yes, they got their tactics right with Vinicius [Junior] out on the right and pinning [Andreas] Christensen back.
"But, he put the chances away as they came and dispatched them beautifully. What a masterclass."
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Featured Image Credit: Cristiano Ronaldo-Instagram/AlamyTopics: Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, La Liga
Jack Kenmare