Benzema closing in on Raúl’s goals tally for Real Madrid

In the summer of 2009, a young Karim Benzema was unveiled at the Bernabéu, in front of 25,000 fans. At 21 years of age, he became the third star signing of that summer - three reinforcement which Florentino made “in one year, rather than three” in a move to gain ground on a Barça side who had just won the Champions League. A few days earlier, Cristiano was presented in front of a Bernabéu packed to the rafters with not a single seat left in the ground. And before him, Kaká, who drew a 55,000-strong crowd.

Karim had talent, no doubt about it, but he also sometimes gave the impression of being a little apathetic. That caused Jose Mourinho to label him a “cat” when he plumped for the more fiery Gonzalo Higuaín to lead the team’s attack. Benzema gave glimpse of true class, but he never quite managed to win over the Bernabéu during those first few seasons. But little by little he gradually became Cristiano’s chief associate, humbly assuming on a secondary role in the team’s attack and hiding his talents which only really came to light when Cristiano left in 2018.

Benzema climbs Real Madrid’s all-time goals table

With a steady supply of goals, Benzema grew in stature and confidence, elevating his own status within the dressing room (he is the team’s captain when Marcelo doesn’t feature) and converted himself into the lethal striker which Mou had wanted to tease out of him. The cat is now a lion, on the prowl and scoring goals with a voracity that has brought him within reach of Raúl González’s all-time goals haul. The legendary No.7 overtook Di Stéfano’s long-standing club record of 308 goals in 2009. When he left the club to join Schalke the following year, his registry stood at 323, a figure which was subsequently demolished by the insatiable Cristiano Ronaldo, the current record holder with 450 goals.

Not so long ago, it seemed that no one would ever get near Raúl’s tally. But after four extraordinary seasons, Benzema has caught up to the eternal captain and could even overtake him this season. His Panenka-style penalty at the Etihad brought up his 320th goal for Madrid - just three shy of Raúl’s total. Since Cristiano left in 2018, Karim has netted a total of 128 goals in 188 games (an average of 0.68 goals per game): 30 in 2018-19, 27 in 2019-20, 30 in 2020-21 and 41 in the current season, 2021-22. Raúl gave him some expert advice in the only year they actually played together at Real Madrid, under Manuel Pellegrini in 2009-10. That season, his final one at the club, the skipper scored seven goals - two less than newboy Benzema. If back then anyone had dared to suggest that one day Karim would overtake Raúl, no one would have believed them...