Karim Benzema joins Saudi Arabia champions Al-Ittihad: Decoding his stats
Football superstar Karim Benzema has joined Saudi Arabia champions Al-Ittihad, ending his 14-year stay at Real Madrid. Benzema, who was the second-highest scorer for Real Madrid, has gone to Saudi Arabia in a big-money move. Real had a contract proposal on the table for the Frenchman until the 2024 season but Benzema has decided otherwise. We decode his career stats.
Why does this story matter?
- Al-Ittihad are managed by former Wolves and Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
- Notably, they finished five points ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr last season.
- With Ronaldo already in Saudi, Benzema now goes to the middle-east nation to bring more popularity.
- Besides Benzema, Al-Ittihad have also signed N'Golo Kante.
- Saudi Arabia has turned out to be a viable destination for several top players.
Benzema is the third-highest scorer in La Liga
Benzema is the fourth-highest scorer in La Liga with 238 goals from 439 appearances. Lionel Messi tops the chart in La Liga with 474 goals for Barcelona (520 appearances). Cristiano Ronaldo managed 311 goals for Real in 292 matches. Telmo Zarra's tally of 251 is the third-best. He achieved the mark with Athletic Club.
Second-highest scorer for Real Madrid
Benzema is the second-highest scorer for Real Madrid with 354 goals in 648 games. Only Ronaldo has more goals than Benzema for Los Blancos (450). Benzema joined Real in the summer of 2009 and has since then spent 14 years. In 11 seasons here, he has scored over 20-plus goals in a campaign. His best season was in 2021-22 (44 goals).
Benzema's key numbers for Real
Benzema is the second-highest scorer for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (78) and is placed only behind Ronaldo (105). He is the third-highest scorer in the FIFA Club World Cup with four goals. Benzema is the joint-top scorer in the UEFA Super Cup (2). He is Real's top scorer in the Copa del Rey (25) and joint-top scorer in Spanish Supercup (7).
Major team honors won by Benzema with Real
Benzema lifted four La Liga honors with Real, besides claiming the Copa del Rey on three counts. He won the Spanish Supercup three times and the UEFA Champions League on five occasions. He has also won four UEFA Super Cups and five Club World Cups.
Plenty of individual awards won by Benzema
Benzema won the Ballon d'Or 2022, besides being adjudged UEFA Men's Player of the Year in 2021-22. He claimed UEFA Champions League Player of the Season in 2021-22 and was the top scorer that season as well. Benzema has won two La Liga Player of the Season awards in 2019-20 and 2021-22 respectively. He won the Pichichi Trophy in 2021-22 as well.
Benzema finishes European club career with 420 goals
Benzema started his career with Lyon, scoring 66 goals in 148 games. He scored 31 goals in 2007-08 and 23 in 2008-09. He won four Ligue 1 titles with Lyon, besides one Coupe de France, and two Trophees des Champions. Benzema ended his European club career with 420 goals in total. He remains the fourth-highest scorer in the Champions League (90).
