Former Real Madrid attacker Antonio Cassano has praised Karim Benzema and also mentioned that the Frenchman’s former colleague Cristiano Ronaldo should forever be appreciative of his services.
The Portuguese had spent nine wildly successful years at the Santiago Bernabeu with Los Blancos. During his time with Madrid, he won two La Liga titles and lifted four UEFA Champions League trophies.
He also shared a glorious understanding with Benzema on the pitch and the duo combined to devastating effect on the pitch. The French striker always cleverly made space for Ronaldo to attack and also assisted several of his goals.
However, since Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, Benzema has taken his game to a whole new level. He is not just the focal point of attack or the primary goalscorer for Los Blancos, but he has also been contributing in the build-up as well as combining with teammates in the final third.
The 34-year-old has almost single-handedly been carrying the Real Madrid attack over the past few seasons and this has prompted several interesting discussions.
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Several people feel that Benzema was more than happy to play in the shadow of Ronaldo, which often hid his best aspects of the game as he allowed the Portuguese to take the limelight as well as the bulk of the goals.
Former Italian international Cassano also agrees with this theory and believes that Cristiano should be indebted to Benzema forever.
“In football, there are not only titles and goals; Zidane scored few goals, but he is one of the greatest in history, Riquelme too. 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,”
Cassano said on Bobo TV.
While Benzema is very close to taking Real Madrid to the LaLiga title this season, Ronaldo has had quite a roller coaster ride at Manchester United. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has netted 18 goals along with assisting thrice in 34 appearances for the Red Devils this season, but he has been at the receiving end of criticism for various off-field antics and some underwhelming performances on the field as well.
