Karim Benzema

Karim Mostafa Benzema (born December 19 1987) is a French footballer. He plays as a striker for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.

Karim Benzema

Benzema with Real Madrid in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Karim Mostafa Benzema[1]
Date of birth	(1987-12-19) 19 December 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth	Lyon, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Al-Ittihad
Number	9
Youth career
1993–1996	AS Des Buers Villeurbanne
1996–1997	Bron
1997–2005	Lyon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2006	Lyon II	20	(15)
2004–2009	Lyon	112	(43)
2009–2023	Real Madrid	439	(238)
2023–	Al-Ittihad	21	(9)
International career
2004	France U17	4	(1)
2004–2005	France U18	17	(14)
2005–2006	France U19	9	(5)
2006	France U21	5	(0)
2007–2022	France	97	(37)
Medal record Men's football Representing  France UEFA Nations League Winner 2021 Italy Team FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2022 Qatar Team UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winner 2004 France Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:09, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Career

Benzema began his career at the Lyon youth academy. Benzema was eyed up by Lyon coaches due to his 15 goals for Lyon II which earnt him a professional contract

In 2009, Real Madrid signed Benzema for a fee of €35 million.^[4]

In 2021, Benzema reached the semifinals of the Champions League with Real Madrid, eventually losing to Chelsea after a 2-2 draw in the first leg;^[5] and a 3-2 loss in the second.^[6]

In October 2021, in the trial of Karim Benzema in the Mathieu Valbuena sextape case, the Versailles prosecutor's office asked the criminal court to pronounce a ten-month suspended prison sentence and a 75,000 euro fine against Karim. Benzema.

In October 2023, Benzema expressed solidarity with the victims of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. In response, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin accused Karim Benzema of “having relations” with the group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. And the senator from the Republican Party of Bouches-du-Rhône, Valérie Boyer, demanded that the player be deprived of French citizenship and the Ballon d'Or if the charges are confirmed.^[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 April 2024^[8][9]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental[c]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lyon II	2004–05	CFA	11	10	—		—		—		—		11	10
	2005–06	CFA	9	5	—		—		—		—		9	5
	Total		20	15	—		—		—		—		20	15
Lyon	2004–05	Ligue 1	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		6	0
	2005–06	Ligue 1	13	1	2	2	0	0	1	1	—		16	4
	2006–07	Ligue 1	21	5	1	0	1	0	3	2	1[d]	1	27	8
	2007–08	Ligue 1	36	20	6	6	2	1	7	4	1[d]	0	52	31
	2008–09	Ligue 1	36	17	2	1	0	0	8	5	1[d]	0	47	23
	Total		112	43	11	9	3	1	19	12	3	1	148	66
Real Madrid	2009–10	La Liga	27	8	1	0	—		5	1	—		33	9
	2010–11	La Liga	33	15	7	5	—		8	6	—		48	26
	2011–12	La Liga	34	21	5	3	—		11	7	2[e]	1	52	32
	2012–13	La Liga	30	11	8	4	—		10	5	2[e]	0	50	20
	2013–14	La Liga	35	17	6	2	—		11	5	—		52	24
	2014–15	La Liga	29	15	3	0	—		9	6	5[f]	1	46	22
	2015–16	La Liga	27	24	0	0	—		9	4	—		36	28
	2016–17	La Liga	29	11	3	1	—		13	5	3[g]	2	48	19
	2017–18	La Liga	32	5	1	1	—		9	5	5[h]	1	47	12
	2018–19	La Liga	36	21	6	4	—		8	4	3[i]	1	53	30
	2019–20	La Liga	37	21	3	1	—		8	5	0	0	48	27
	2020–21	La Liga	34	23	1	0	—		10	6	1[e]	1	46	30
	2021–22	La Liga	32	27	0	0	—		12	15	2[e]	2	46	44
	2022–23	La Liga	24	19	5	4	—		10	4	4[j]	4	43	31
	Total		439	238	49	25	—		133	78	27	13	648	354
Al-Ittihad	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	21	9	1	1	—		3[k]	0	8[l]	6	33	16
Career total			592	305	61	35	3	1	155	90	38	20	849	451

1. Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, King Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. All appearances in UEFA Champions League, unless otherwise noted
4. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
5. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
6. One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances in Supercopa de España, two appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
7. One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup
8. One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances and one goal in Supercopa de España, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
9. One appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
10. Two appearances and two goals in Supercopa de España, one appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
11. Appearances in AFC Champions League
12. Four appearances and three goals in Arab Club Champions Cup, two appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup, two appearances and one goal in Saudi Super Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[10]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	2007	8	3
	2008	11	2
	2009	8	3
	2010	5	3
	2011	10	2
	2012	12	2
	2013	10	3
	2014	13	7
	2015	4	2
	2021	13	9
	2022	3	1
Total		97	37

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benzema goal^[11]

List of international goals scored by Karim Benzema

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2007	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	1	Austria	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	13 October 2007	Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	5	Faroe Islands	3–0	6–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3					5–0
4	20 August 2008	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	14	Sweden	1–1	3–2	Friendly
5	14 October 2008	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	18	Tunisia	3–1	3–1	Friendly
6	5 June 2009	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	24	Turkey	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7	10 October 2009	Stade de Roudourou, Guingamp, France	26	Faroe Islands	5–0	5–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	14 October 2009	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	27	Austria	1–0	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	7 September 2010	Koševo City Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	29	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
10	12 October 2010	Stade Saint-Symphorien, Metz, France	31	Luxembourg	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
11	17 November 2010	Wembley Stadium, London, England	32	England	1–0	2–1	Friendly
12	9 February 2011	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	33	Brazil	1–0	1–0	Friendly
13	2 September 2011	Stadiumi Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania	39	Albania	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
14	5 June 2012	MMArena, Le Mans, France	45	Estonia	2–0	4–0	Friendly
15					3–0
16	11 October 2013	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	61	Australia	6–0	6–0	Friendly
17	15 October 2013	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	62	Finland	3–0	3–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
18	19 November 2013	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	64	Ukraine	2–0	3–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
19	5 March 2014	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	65	Netherlands	1–0	2–0	Friendly
20	8 June 2014	Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France	66	Jamaica	3–0	8–0	Friendly
21					5–0
22	15 June 2014	Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil	67	Honduras	1–0	3–0	2014 FIFA World Cup
23					3–0
24	20 June 2014	Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil	68	Switzerland	4–0	5–2	2014 FIFA World Cup
25	11 October 2014	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	74	Portugal	1–0	2–1	Friendly
26	8 October 2015	Allianz Riviera, Nice, France	81	Armenia	3–0	4–0	Friendly
27					4–0
28	23 June 2021	Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary	86	Portugal	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2020
29					2–1
30	28 June 2021	Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania	87	Switzerland	1–1	3–3 (aet)	UEFA Euro 2020
31					2–1
32	7 October 2021	Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy	91	Belgium	1–2	3–2	2021 UEFA Nations League Finals
33	10 October 2021	San Siro, Milan, Italy	92	Spain	1–1	2–1	2021 UEFA Nations League final
34	13 November 2021	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	93	Kazakhstan	4–0	8–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
35					5–0
36	16 November 2021	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	94	Finland	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
37	3 June 2022	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	95	Denmark	1–0	1–2	2022–23 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Lyon^[12]

• Ligue 1: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Coupe de France: 2007–08
• Trophée des Champions: 2006, 2007

Real Madrid^[12]

• La Liga: 2011–12, 2016–17, 2019–20,^[13] 2021–22^[14]
• Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14, 2022–23^[15]
• Supercopa de España: 2012, 2017, 2019–20, 2021–22^[16]
• UEFA Champions League: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22^[17]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022^[18]
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022^[19]

France U17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2004^[20]

France

• UEFA Nations League: 2020–21^[21]
• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2022^[22]

Individual

• Ballon d'Or: 2022^[23]
• Marca Leyenda Award: 2023^[24]
• UEFA Men's Player of the Year: 2021–22^[25]
• Golden Player Man Award: 2022^[26]
• Onze d'Or: 2020–21,^[27] 2021–22^[28]
• French Player of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2021^[29]
• UEFA Champions League Player of the Season: 2021–22^[30]
• UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 2021–22^[31]
• FIFA FIFPRO World 11: 2022^[32]
• La Liga Player of the Season: 2019–20, 2021–22
• La Liga Best Player (voted by Marca fans): 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
• Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano: 2019–20,^[33] 2021–22
• Pichichi Trophy: 2021–22^[34]
• UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2011–12^[35]
• UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2020–21,^[36] 2021–22^[37]
• IFFHS Men's World Team: 2022^[38]
• Globe Soccer Awards Men's Player of the Year: 2022^[39]
• La Liga Team of the Season: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, ^[40] 2022–23^[41]
• UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2019–20^[42]
• Bravo Award: 2008^[43]
• Ligue 1 top scorer: 2007–08^[44]
• Coupe de France top scorer: 2007–08^[45]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: January 2008, April 2008
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2007–08^[46][47]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2007–08^[47]
• UNFP Best French Player Playing Abroad: 2019,^[48] 2021,^[49] 2022, ^[50] 2023^[51]
• Golden Lion for the best Lyon sportsman: 2007,^[52] 2008
• French Rookie of the Year: 2006^[53]
• Étoile d'Or: 2007–08^[29]
• La Liga Player of the Month: October 2014,^[54] June 2020,^[55] March 2021,^[56] September 2021,^[57] April 2022^[58]
• Supercopa de España top scorer: 2021–22, 2022–23
• Real Madrid Player of the Season (voted by supporters): 2015–16,^[59] 2018–19,^[60] 2019–20,^[61] 2021–22^[62]
• AS Player of the Year: 2021^[63]
• Kicker Player of the Season: 2022^[64]
• Madrid Sports Press Association Award (APDM)^[65]
• ESM Team of the Year: 2020–21, 2021–22
• L'Équipe's Team of the Year: 2020,^[66] 2021,^[67] 2022^[68]
• 2005 UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup top scorer^[69]
• UEFA European Championship Bronze Boot: 2020^[70]
• UEFA Nations League Finals Bronze Boot: 2021^[71]
• UEFA Nations League Finals Goal of the Tournament: 2021^[72]
• Member of Guinness World Records 2021: Player with the most consecutive seasons in the UEFA Champions League (qualified for and played in the competition without interruption since 2005)