Karim Mostafa Benzema

Karim Mostafa Benzema ( Lyon , 19 December 1987 ) is a French footballer of Algerian origin , a forward for Real Madrid , of which he is vice captain , and for the French national team .

Reputed to be one of the strongest players of his generation,  grew up in the Lyon youth academy , with whose first team he made his debut in 2004 and established himself shortly thereafter, winning the Ligue 1 top scorer in 2007-08 , with 20 centers, and four consecutive French championships (from 2005 to 2008), two French Super Cups (2006 and 2007) and a French Cup (2008). Moving to Real Madrid in 2009, he has established himself as one of the best strikers of his generation. With the Spaniards he enriched his palmarès, winning four championships (2012, 2017, 2020 and 2022), two King’s Cups(2011 and 2014), four Spanish Super Cups (2012, 2017, 2020 and 2022), four UEFA Champions League (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018), three UEFA Super Cups (2014, 2016 and 2017) and four World Club Cups (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

In 2004 he won the European championship in the category with the French Under-17 national team.  With the senior national team , in which he made his debut in 2007, he played three European championships ( 2008 , 2012 and 2020 ) and one world championship ( 2014 ). In 2015, following a court case involving him, he was excluded from the national team, before returning there in 2021, the year in which he won the UEFA Nations League.

On an individual level, he has been named French Footballer of the Year three times (2011, 2012 and 2014), as well as winning the Bravo Trophy in 2008. With 28 official trophies won at club level, he is the most successful French footballer, as well as the best French scorer in UEFA club competition and the Spanish league . He is also Real Madrid s second highest scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo .