Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is a free agent after the termination of his contract with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Benzema is known for his creativity, technical skills, vision and versatility on the field. He won 25 trophies with Real Madrid, including four La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey titles, and five UEFA Champions League titles. He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country, and is Real Madrid's second-highest goalscorer after Cristiano Ronaldo and its third-highest assist provider after Míchel and Paco Gento. In the Champions League, Benzema is both the all-time French top goalscorer (90) and assist provider (29). He is also one of the few players in football history with 1,000 or more official appearances (the first French to achieve the feat, since the time matches are recorded).
Born in Lyon to parents of Algerian and Kabyle descent, Benzema began his career with his hometown club Lyon in 2005, contributing sporadically to three Ligue 1 title wins. In 2008, he was named the league's Player of the Year and in the Team of the Year having finished as the league's top goalscorer and winning his fourth league title and first Coupe de France. In 2009, Benzema was the subject of a then-French record football transfer when he joined Real Madrid in a deal worth €35 million. He was part of a highly rated trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale – dubbed "BBC" – who helped Madrid to four Champions League titles between 2014 and 2018.
Following Ronaldo's departure in 2018, Benzema transitioned from the false 9 position into a sole striker. He was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2023, won La Liga Best Player twice and the Pichichi Trophy for the first time in 2022. Benzema finished as Champions League top scorer as he won his fifth title in 2022, and subsequently captained the club in his final season before signing for Al-Ittihad the following year. As captain, he led Al-Ittihad to the 2024–25 Saudi Pro League title.
A French international, Benzema won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and made his senior debut for France in 2007, at age 19. After appearing at UEFA Euro 2008, Benzema was controversially left out of the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; following his return for Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, he did not play for France for over five years after being implicated in a blackmailing scandal in 2015. He later returned to the squad for Euro 2020, where he won the Bronze Boot. Benzema was also a part of the French squad that finished as runners-up at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not play at the tournament due to an injury, though he did receive a medal. He announced his international retirement in December 2022 following the World Cup. Overall, Benzema earned 97 caps and scored 37 goals, ranking as France's sixth-highest all-time top goalscorer, and was named French Player of the Year by France Football four times.
For his performances in 2021 and 2022, Benzema was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or, becoming the fifth French player to have won the Ballon d'Or. One of the highest-paid footballers in the world, he made Forbess list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2024.
Club career Early career Benzema began his career at his hometown club Bron Terraillon at the age of eight. After scoring two goals in an under-10 match against the Lyon youth academy, he attracted attention from Lyon. According to Serge Santa Cruz, Bron Terraillon's president at the time, Lyon officials visited him in an attempt to sign Benzema, but Santa Cruz refused. After consultation with Benzema's father, Bron Terraillon allowed Benzema to undergo a trial with Lyon. Following the trial, Benzema officially joined Lyon's youth academy.
Lyon Benzema quickly ascended up the youth categories in the academy. He served as a ballboy during Lyon senior team matches and performed well in school. At the under-16 level, Benzema scored 38 goals in the Championnat National des 16 ans, the domestic league for under-16 youth players in France. Ahead of the 2004–05 season, Benzema was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football. Despite only playing with the team during the autumn campaign, he scored a team-high ten goals as the Lyon reserve team finished second in its group.
2004–2007: Breakthrough and three league titles Benzema was called up to the senior team for the first time under manager Paul Le Guen during the break leading up to the second half of the season. As is customary with new players arriving at Lyon, the young striker had to stand up and speak to his new teammates, which at that time included the likes of Michael Essien, Sylvain Wiltord, Florent Malouda and Eric Abidal. While speaking, Benzema was subjected to jokes and laughter, which prompted the youngster to declare, "Do not laugh, I'm here to take your place." He made his professional debut on 15 January 2005 against Metz, appearing as a substitute for Pierre-Alain Frau. Lyon won the match 2–0 as Benzema provided the assist of the second goal scored by Bryan Bergougnoux. He signed his first professional contract the same month, agreeing to a three-year deal. After making three more appearances as a substitute, on 2 April Benzema made his first professional start in a 1–0 win over Lens. He finished the campaign with six appearances as Lyon won their fourth-straight league title.
Benzema began the 2005–06 season under the tutelage of new manager Gérard Houllier. Under Houllier, he struggled for meaningful minutes due to the presence of newly signed Brazilian striker Fred, as well as Sylvain Wiltord. Benzema made his season debut on 2 October 2005 in a league win over Rennes, appearing as a substitute. On 6 December, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in Lyon's final group stage match against Norwegian club Rosenborg. On his competition debut, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 win. A month later, Benzema scored his first professional double in a 4–0 win over Grenoble in the Coupe de France. On 4 March 2006, Benzema scored his first professional league goal against Ajaccio in a 3–1 win.
Benzema began earning more playing time in the 2006–07 season and made his competitive season debut in the 2006 Trophée des Champions against Paris Saint-Germain. In the French Supercup, Benzema converted a penalty which drew the match at 1–1. Lyon later won the league curtain-raiser 5–4 on penalties. Benzema opened the league campaign on a quick note scoring in the team's first match of the season against Nantes. Three weeks later, on 26 August 2006, Benzema appeared as a substitute and scored two goals in a 4–1 away win over Nice. He also converted two goals in the Champions League group stage against Romanian outfit Steaua București and Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv. After appearing regularly during the autumn campaign, on 10 November, Benzema suffered a severe thigh injury. The injury resulted in the striker missing three months of action before returning in February 2007. Benzema failed to score a goal until the final league match of the season against Nantes as Lyon recorded its sixth consecutive league title.
2007–2009: Club talisman For the 2007–08 season, with Florent Malouda, John Carew and Sylvain Wiltord all departing from the club, Benzema switched to the number 10 shirt and was inserted into the lead striker role. After forming a special relationship with new manager Alain Perrin, he responded with 31 goals in 51 games. He topped the league with 20 goals, scored four goals in the Champions League, one in the Coupe de la Ligue and totaled six goals in six Coupe de France matches, helping Lyon win their first ever double. Some of his more dazzling performances that season included a hat-trick against Metz on 15 September, an equalizing goal in the 90th minute from a free kick against Derby du Rhône rivals Saint-Étienne, and a goal against Lens that was nominated for goal of the season by fans.
In the Champions League, Benzema scored an important double against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on the last match day of the group stage. The 3–0 victory assured Lyon progression to the knockout rounds. In the knockout rounds, Lyon faced Manchester United and Benzema continued to score, this time it was from outside the penalty box in the first leg match which ended in a 1–1 draw and United eventually won the tie 1–2 on aggregate. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and players praised Benzema for his performance. Lyon club president Jean-Michel Aulas later accused Ferguson of tapping-up Benzema.
On 13 March 2008, Benzema extended his contract with Lyon until 2013 with a one-year extension option. After signing his new contract, Benzema became one of the highest paid footballers in France. For his efforts that season, he was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, selected to the Team of the Year and awarded the Trophée du Meilleur Buteur for being the league's top scorer. He won the 2008 Bravo Award given to the most outstanding young footballer playing in Europe, and was also shortlisted by France Football for the 2008 Ballon d'Or award, eventually won by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Benzema got off to a good start for the 2008–09 season, scoring twice in Lyon's opening league match against Toulouse. The following three weeks, he scored goals against Rhône-Alpes rivals Grenoble and Saint-Étienne and scored a goal against Nice, converting a penalty in the dying seconds. Lyon won all three matches. As a result of his early goals, Lyon club president Jean-Michel Aulas quelled the many transfer rumors surrounding Benzema by placing a €100 million price tag on the striker. He was also nominated alongside Franck Ribéry to be featured on the French cover of the video game FIFA 09.
He scored his seventh goal of the league on 29 October, scoring in the 2–0 win over Sochaux. Benzema scored again the following weekend in a 2–0 win over Le Mans. He was among the top scorers in the Champions League group stage, scoring five goals, a double against Steaua București, two goals in two matches against Fiorentina, and a goal against the eventual group winners Bayern Munich on the final match day.
Following the winter break, Benzema endured a rough patch going scoreless the first three games before recording his 11th goal of the season against Nice in a 3–1 victory. Two weeks later, he scored his 12th goal against Nancy in a 2–0 victory. The next nine matches, both Benzema and Lyon's form dwindled losing four matches, drawing three and winning only two with Benzema scoring only two goals in that stretch, both of them against Le Mans in a 3–1 victory. The bad form resulted in Lyon losing their grip on first-place position and eventually falling out of the title race, thus ending their streak of seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles. Benzema was a part of four of those title runs.
Despite losing the title, Benzema got back on track scoring his 15th and 16th goals of the season on 17 May in a 3–1 away victory over rivals Marseille, the first goal being a penalty. He scored his 17th goal the following weekend against Caen in a 3–1 victory moving him into third place among Ligue 1 top scorers.
Real Madrid 2009–10: Transfer and adapting to Spain