Early career Benzema began his football career at his hometown club Bron Terraillon at the age of eight. While at the club, he was nicknamed "Coco" by friends and, after scoring two goals in an under-ten match against the
Lyon youth academy, began attracting attention from the biggest club in the city. According to Serge Santa Cruz, who was president of Bron Terraillon in the 1990s, Lyon officials had visited him directly in an attempt to sign the youngster; however, Santa Cruz refused. After talking with Benzema's father, the club allowed the player to undergo a trial with Lyon.
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 being described as a student who was "discreet and respectful". At 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 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 On 1 July 2009, it was announced that Lyon had reached an agreement with Spanish club
Real Madrid for the transfer of Benzema. The transfer fee was priced at €35 million with the fee rising to as much as €41 million based on incentives. On 9 July, Benzema successfully passed his medical and signed his contract, a six-year deal, later that afternoon. He was presented officially as a Real Madrid player later that night at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, similarly to the previous signings of
Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema made his Real Madrid debut on 20 July in the club's opening
pre-season friendly against Irish team
Shamrock Rovers in
Dublin, appearing as a half-time substitute. He scored the lone goal in the club's 1–0 win, scoring in the 87th minute. On 24 August, Benzema netted two goals in Real Madrid's 4–0 victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg in an annual friendly tournament organized for the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy. The goals brought his total tally in the pre-season with Real Madrid to five, making him the joint top scorer alongside fellow striker
Raúl. in a Champions League match in 2009 Benzema made his league debut for Madrid on 29 August 2009 against
Deportivo La Coruña. He started the match, but was substituted out in the second half as Madrid won 3–2. A month later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory against newly promoted
Xerez. After missing the mid-week match against
Villarreal, against
Tenerife at the weekend, Benzema scored his first double for Madrid in a 3–0 home victory. He made his Champions League debut for the club on 30 September in a group stage tie against Marseille. After failing to score a goal in the month of October, in the team's first match in November against
Italian club
Milan in the Champions League, Benzema scored the opener to give Madrid a 1–0 lead. His goal was later cancelled out by a
Ronaldinho penalty. In late November, Benzema began appearing mainly as a substitute as manager
Manuel Pellegrini preferred
Gonzalo Higuaín in the lead striker role. To coincide with his benching, the striker was also being criticized by the Spanish media for his under-performance and difficulties settling in the country as he had not yet begun learning the
Spanish language. He was even declared the "new
Anelka" by a
Marca blogger, referring to former Real Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka who had a tumultuous year at the club before being sold. Benzema was defended by his compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who admitted "after two months, I was also criticized" and that Benzema was "a talented player and talented players in Madrid must win". On 5 December, Benzema appeared as a substitute for
Rafael van der Vaart and scored the third goal in a 6–0 romp of
Almería. The day after the match against Almería, Benzema responded to the criticism by stating, "I am totally integrated and very happy at Real Madrid", and, "Yes, I have improved my adaptation. I have a new home and I'm learning Spanish to understand myself better with my teammates." After nearly a month coming off of the bench, he started alongside Higuaín away to
Valencia on 12 December. A week later, Benzema returned to the bench. Following an injury to Higuaín in early January 2010, Pellegrini inserted Benzema back into the starting lineup. After failing to score in his first two starts in the absence of Higuaín, against Deportivo La Coruña on 30 January, he scored a double in an important 3–1 away win. Following the return of Higuaín, Benzema was relegated back to a substitute's role and finished the campaign by making eight consecutive appearances off the bench. Included in one of those appearances was his final goal of the season against
Athletic Bilbao in a 5–1 win.
2010–11: First-team mainstay in 2010 Ahead of the
2010–11 season, Benzema switched to the number 9 shirt as Real Madrid were under the tutelage of new incoming manager
José Mourinho. The striker immediately drew the ire of Mourinho who declared to reporters during a pre-season media session that "Benzema must understand that he is extremely talented, but that in itself is not enough", while also stating that "[Madrid] need a striker who is sparky, not one that is listless". Mourinho sentiments were later echoed by incoming France national team coach
Laurent Blanc who acknowledged that Benzema was "not used to working". Blanc also stated that the striker needed to shed weight in order to fulfill his potential. Due to Mourinho preferring Ronaldo and Higuaín as his forwards, Following the September international break, he made his first start in a 1–0 win over
Osasuna. On 21 September, Benzema made a substitute appearance and scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win against
Espanyol. Afterwards, the striker failed to score a domestic goal for nearly two months. On 10 November, Benzema scored his second goal of the campaign against
Real Murcia in the
2010–11 edition of the
Copa del Rey. In late November, Benzema was inserted into the starting eleven following a severe back injury to Higuaín, along with the team's lack of senior strikers. In his first match since being inserted into the starting lineup permanently, he scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a group stage fixture against
Dutch club
Ajax. In Madrid's final group stage tie against
Auxerre, Benzema scored his first
hat trick for the club in a 4–0 win. The first goal he scored was Real Madrid's 300th goal in the Champions League era. Two weeks later, Benzema converted another hat trick, this time in an 8–0 thrashing of
Levante in the Copa del Rey. In late January, for the first time in his Real Madrid career, Benzema scored goals in back-to-back matches. On 23 January, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at home against Mallorca. Three days later, Benzema repeated his efforts scoring the only goal in a win over
Sevilla in the first leg of the team's Copa del Rey semi-final tie. Real Madrid later advanced to its 37th Copa del Rey final in club history after beating Sevilla 2–0 in the second leg. in 2011 Following the arrival of
Emmanuel Adebayor on loan, Benzema went unused in two consecutive league matches in February 2011. He returned to the starting lineup on 19 February and embarked on a run in which he scored ten goals in eight matches. Included in those ten goals were doubles in three straight matches against
Málaga,
Racing Santander and Hércules, as well as a goal in the first leg of Madrid's Round of 16 tie against former club Lyon. The strike against his hometown club was the 100th goal of his professional career, and also the first goal for Real Madrid at the Stade de Gerland in six years, though despite the honours associated with netting the goal, Benzema did not celebrate out of respect for his former club. On 19 March, he scored the opener in the
El Derbi madrileño as Real Madrid went on to win the match 2–1. Despite his form, Benzema appeared in only one of the four highly anticipated matches against
El Clásico rivals
Barcelona, in which the two clubs met in the league, the
2011 Copa del Rey final and the Champions League knockout stage. In between those clashes, on 23 April 2011, Benzema scored a goal in a 6–3 win over Valencia. On 30 April, he scored a goal in the team's 3–2 loss to Real Zaragoza. It was the only match of the campaign that Real Madrid lost, in which Benzema scored. To close out the campaign, Benzema scored another double in an 8–1 win over Almería. He finished the campaign second on the team behind Ronaldo with 26 goals as Real Madrid captured the Copa del Rey giving Benzema his first honour with the club. For his performances during the campaign, particularly during the second half, Benzema was praised by Mourinho, club officials
Florentino Pérez and
Emilio Butragueño, as well as national team manager Laurent Blanc.
2011–12: First La Liga championship Prior to the start of the
2011–12 season, Benzema, taking the advice of compatriots Blanc and Zidane, ventured to
Merano, Italy, to attend a high performance clinic where he underwent treatment to reduce his weight. The spell at the clinic was ultimately a success after the striker arrived at pre-season lighter. His performances during the pre-season resulted in Mourinho naming him the starting lead striker for the new campaign. Mourinho was later credited with Benzema's transformation, but denied full responsibility and, instead, gave credit to the striker himself. In the second leg of the
2011 Supercopa de España against Barcelona, and with Madrid trailing 4–3 on aggregate late in the match, Benzema scored the equalizing goal to even the tie at 4–4. However, six minutes later, a
Lionel Messi strike gave Barcelona the supercup. In the team's second league match of the season against Getafe, Benzema scored a double in a 4–2 victory. After going goalless in three consecutive league matches, he scored his third league goal of the campaign against
Rayo Vallecano in a 4–2 win. In the team's ensuing match against Ajax in the Champions League, Benzema scored Madrid's third goal in a 3–0 home win. In the club's next Champions League match against Lyon, Benzema scored again by netting the opener in a 4–0 win against Lyon. In November 2011, Benzema scored five goals; three in the league and two in Europe. In the league, he converted his three goals in wins over Osasuna and Valencia, while he scored his two Champions League goals in a 6–2 group stage win over
Croatian club
Dinamo Zagreb. On 10 December 2011, Benzema scored the opener in Madrid's 3–1 defeat to Barcelona in the
El Clásico. The goal, scored just 21 seconds into the match, was the fastest goal ever scored in a match between the two rivals. Three days after his record-breaking goal, for his performances during the 2011 calendar year, Benzema was named the
France Football French Player of the Year, beating out Barcelona defender
Eric Abidal and Lyon goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris. He became only the second French player based in Spain to win the award, and also the second Real Madrid player to capture it. Zidane was the first to achieve both honorable mentions. Benzema expressed gratitude at winning the award, stating, "It is a pleasure to win an individual trophy. When I see the previous winners – Zidane,
Henry and other major players – it makes me proud to join them on the list." In the team's next match after winning the award, against Sevilla, Benzema assisted two goals in a 6–2 triumph. Benzema opened the 2012 portion of the campaign in positive form. He scored goals against
Granada and Málaga. Benzema scored against the latter club in the Copa del Rey in each leg of the Round of 16. The 4–2 aggregate win advanced Real Madrid to the quarter-finals where the club faced Barcelona. After failing to score in the first leg, which ended 2–1 in favour of
Barça, in the second leg on 25 January 2012, Benzema scored his third goal of the season against the
Blaugrana, but Madrid failed to win the tie losing 4–3 on aggregate. On 12 February, Benzema scored his first league goal in over a month against Levante. A week later, he scored a double in a 4–0 shutout of Racing Santander. On 24 March, Benzema scored two goals in a league win over Real Sociedad. The two goals made him the top French scorer in La Liga history surpassing Zidane. Three days later, Benzema scored another double in a 3–0 first leg away win over Cypriot team
APOEL in the Champions League quarter-finals. On 29 April, Benzema put in a masterful performance scoring two goals and assisting another in a 3–0 win over Sevilla. The double was his seventh of the season and allowed Madrid to close in on its first
Primera Division title in four years.
Los Blancos captured their 32nd league title the following week cruising to a 3–0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Benzema appeared as a second-half substitute in the match.
2012–2016: Sustained continental success On the first matchday of the Champions League, Benzema scored an equalizer against
Manchester City in 3–2 win at Santiago Bernabéu. On 4 October 2012, Benzema scored a bicycle kick goal off a cross by Kaká in a 4–1 win against Ajax in
Amsterdam. On 18 December, one day before his 25th birthday, his fine form saw him earn the award for best French footballer of 2012, for the second year running. On 2 March 2013, Benzema opened the scoring against Barcelona in the league game at the Santiago Bernabéu. Real went on to win the game 2–1, the second time they beat Barcelona in a week. Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Benzema became part of a trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and newly signed
Gareth Bale – dubbed "BBC". Benzema started the season by scoring in a 2–1 win over Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu. After four matches without scoring (two with Real Madrid and two with France), he returned to goal-scoring form by netting twice in a 6–1 away win over
Galatasaray in
Champions League. On 18 January 2014, he scored his 100th goal for Madrid in a 5–0 victory at
Real Betis. On 23 March, Benzema scored two goals against fierce rivals Barcelona in
El Clásico at the Bernabéu from two crosses by
Ángel Di María, taking his goal tally in La Liga to 17 goals, though Barcelona won the match 4–3. Benzema was part of Real Madrid's starting eleven in the
2014 Copa del Rey final on 16 April at the
Mestalla Stadium, and assisted Di María's opening goal before
Gareth Bale hit the winner for Madrid in a 2–1 victory. One week later, on 23 April, Benzema scored the only goal of the game to win the first leg of a Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, 1–0. The club went on to win the
final in May. Real Madrid's attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano, dubbed "BBC", finished the season with 97 goals. On 6 August 2014, Real Madrid announced that Benzema had signed a new five-year deal that would keep him at the club until 2019. On 12 August 2014, Benzema played the whole 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 2–0 win against Sevilla in
Cardiff to claim the
UEFA Super Cup. On 16 September, Benzema scored Real Madrid's 1,000th goal in
European competition after netting a goal in a 5–1 victory over
Basel in the first match of the
Champions League group stage. He scored the winning goal in Real Madrid's 2–1 away victory against
Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League after coming on as a second-half substitute. The next weekend, he scored a brace in the 5–0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. In 2014, Benzema won France Football's award for
French Player of the Year for the third time; only
Thierry Henry has won this award on more occasions. Benzema was chosen as
La Liga Player of the Month for October 2014, with his manager
Carlo Ancelotti winning
the equivalent award. He scored three of Real Madrid's 13 goals of the month, in which they won three matches and only conceded just one goal. On 8 December 2015, Benzema scored a hat trick in an 8–0 thrashing against
Malmö. On 20 December, he scored another hat trick in a 10–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano. He was a regular starter when the team won the
2015–16 UEFA Champions League.
2016–2018: European threepeat and second league title during the 2016 Champions League title celebrations in Madrid In December 2016, Benzema was called up in Real Madrid's
squad for the
2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. In the semi-final match against
América on 15 December, Benzema scored in the last moments of the first half, helping the team to progress in the final by winning 2–0. In the
final three days later against
Kashima Antlers, Benzema opened the score in the ninth minute, and also assisted Ronaldo's second goal, as Real Madrid won 4–2 in extra time after the regular time finished 2–2 to claim their second title. It was Benzema's tenth title with Real Madrid, and finished the competition as joint-second topscorer with two goals in two matches. On 15 February 2017, in the first leg of
2016–17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 against
Napoli, Benzema scored Real Madrid's first goal in an eventual 3–1 home win, which was his 51st goal in this competition, overtaking
Thierry Henry on the list of
all-time Champions League top scorers. It was his first goal in six matches and for this performance he was voted Man of the Match. He was a regular starter, and scored the last goal of the season which gave him eleven for the campaign, when Madrid won the
2016–17 La Liga and the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League. On 20 September 2017, Benzema signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 2021. Later, on 6 March of the following year, Benzema made his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance by playing in the 2–1 win at
Parc des Princes against
Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of
2017–18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 as Real Madrid progressed to the next round 5–2 on aggregate. Benzema played his 400th match in all competitions for Real Madrid on 31 March in the 3–0 win at
Las Palmas,
captaining the team and netting the second goal with a penalty. On 1 May, Benzema scored twice in a 2–2 draw against
Bayern Munich in the return leg of the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League semi-final, as Real progressed to the final on a 4–3 aggregate. On 26 May, Benzema scored the first goal of the match in
2018 UEFA Champions League final by intercepting
Loris Karius's throw in a 3–1 victory over
Liverpool, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title.
2018–2021: Club talisman, third league title and the return of Zidane With the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to
Juventus in July 2018, Benzema became Real Madrid's new goal-getter – scoring 30 goals in all competitions in
2018–19 as the club's top scorer for the campaign. His prominence in Real Madrid's squad significantly increased. becoming only the seventh Madrid player to achieve the feat. He scored three goals in six matches, all of them against Plzeň, helping Real Madrid topping
Group G. Later, on 13 February of the following year, in the first leg of the competition's
round of 16, Benzema scored the opener of a 2–1 away win over
Ajax, reaching 60 Champions League goals, becoming only the fourth player to do so. Benzema scored Madrid's first competitive goal of the
2019–20 season on 17 August in the 3–1 away win over Celta Vigo in the opening
La Liga match. Later, on 6 November, he scored a brace in Madrid's 6–0 crushing of
Galatasaray, achieving two new milestones: he became the second player after
Lionel Messi to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons and also the third Madrid player to score 50 goals in the competition. His performances were praised by manager
Zinedine Zidane, who called him a legend and also compared him with Cristiano Ronaldo. Three days later, in the next league match, he scored a first-half brace in a 4–0 win at
Eibar, overtaking
Ferenc Puskás as the club's sixth all-time goalscorer in La Liga with 157 goals from 323 appearances. In February 2020, Benzema extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2022. On 1 March, he made his 500th appearance for Real Madrid in a 2–0 home win over Barcelona in El Clásico, becoming the fourteenth player in the club's history to achieve this milestone. At the end of the season, Real Madrid won the
2019–20 La Liga, while scoring over 20 goals. When La Liga restarted after a three-month hiatus due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Benzema scored a brace against Valencia in Real Madrid's second game back at the
Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium on 18 June – his first goals at Madrid's new temporary home ground. Benzema's brace saw him surpass
Ferenc Puskás as Real Madrid's fourth All-Time Top Scorer with 304 goals. On 16 July, Benzema's brace against Villarreal secured Real Madrid's 34th
La Liga title, after a 2–1 win at the Di Stefano – their 10th consecutive league win after the lockdown. On 7 August, Benzema scored Madrid's only goal at the Etihad as they went crashing out of the Champions League to Manchester City (2–4 on aggregate) to end the campaign. For the second consecutive season, Benzema finished as the club's top scorer with 27 goals in all competitions. Benzema opened his goal account for
2020–21 on 4 October, away to
Levante in La Liga, netting his 250th goal for Real Madrid in all competitions. On 27 October, he scored an acrobatic over-the-head goal in a 2–2 draw against
Borussia Mönchengladbach at
Borussia-Park in the
Champions League, to become the second player in history after Lionel Messi to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons. On 9 December, he scored a brace in a 2–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach to send Real Madrid to the Champions League knockout stages as group winners. On 21 April, Benzema scored a brace and assisted another in a 3–0 away win at
Cádiz, which meant he scored against all 35 teams he has played against in La Liga.
2021–22: Vice-captaincy, fourth league title, UCL top scorer and Ballon d'Or With the departure of Sergio Ramos to PSG, Benzema was promoted as Real Madrid's
vice-captain for the
2021–22 season under Ancelotti. On 14 August, Benzema scored a brace against Alaves as Los Blancos kicked off the league season with a 1–4 away win to sit at the top of the table. Benzema's first half volley was the first official goal under Ancelotti in his second stint. Six days later, Benzema signed a contract extension with Real Madrid, keeping him at the club until 2023. Benzema scored his first hat-trick in three seasons in a 5–2 win over
Celta Vigo on 12 September as Madrid returned to the Bernabeu for the first time since March 2020. Wearing the armband, Benzema was the first Madrid captain to score a hat-trick since Raul in 2008. One week later, Benzema and Vini Jr would combine twice in the last few minutes against Valencia at the
Mestalla to complete a comeback to earn Madrid their first win at the Mestalla in four seasons. On 22 September, Benzema scored a brace and provided another two assists in a 6–1 win over
Mallorca at the Bernabeu. Benzema's brace allowed him to become only the fourth Madrid player in history to score 200 La Liga goals after Di Stefano, Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo. On 28 September, Benzema became the first the player in history to score in 17 consecutive Champions League seasons after scoring his first penalty in the competition in a 1–2 home loss against
Sheriff in the group stage. On 22 October, Benzema scored Madrid's 1000th Champions League goal at the Bernabéu against
Shakhtar Donetsk. In the process, Benzema scored his 291st and 292nd goals for the club, making him their fourth highest all-time top scorer, overtaking Santillana. With his goal against
Sevilla in La Liga on 28 November, he became the highest French goalscorer in club football matches, overtaking
Thierry Henry. On 8 January, Benzema scored his 300th goal for Madrid, converting a penalty in a 4–1 win at home in La Liga against Valencia. , Benzema and
Carlos Osoro Sierra with the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2022 at the
Virgin of Almudena On 9 March, he scored a hat-trick within 17 minutes in a remarkable comeback against
Paris Saint-Germain in the
Champions League round of 16. At the age of 34, Benzema became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League era. With the three goals, Benzema brought his tally to 309, overtaking
Alfredo Di Stéfano as Real Madrid's third-highest all-time goalscorer. On 14 March, Benzema scored a brace in a La Liga match against
Mallorca and broke Henry's record, becoming all-time top French goalscorer with 413 goals. On 6 April, he scored another hat-trick in the Champions League in a 3–1 away win over
Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Benzema became only the second player (after Cristiano Ronaldo) to score back-to-back hat-tricks in successive Champions League knockout matches. One week later in the second leg at the
Santiago Bernabéu, Benzema scored a 96th minute header in extra time which proved pivotal, as Madrid lost to Chelsea 2–3 on the night but qualified for the semi-finals 5–4 on aggregate. On 30 April 2022, he helped Real clinch their 35th Spanish title with a goal in a 4–0 win against
Espanyol at the Bernabéu. On 4 May, he scored a decisive goal from the penalty spot in extra time in the second leg against Manchester City and helped Real Madrid reach their 17th European Cup final. By the end of the
2021–22 La Liga season, Benzema won his first
Pichichi Trophy with 27 goals in 32 matches. On 28 May, he won his fifth Champions League title after a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the
final, and finished the tournament as
top scorer with 15 goals in total. On 31 May, Benzema was named the inaugural
Champions League player of the season. On 13 August, he was nominated for the
Ballon d'Or, widely considered a favourite to win it. In recognition of his performances that season, Benzema was awarded the Ballon d'Or on 17 October.
2022–23: Captaincy, all-time second top scorer and departure With the departure of
Marcelo, Benzema was promoted to captain as the most senior member of the squad. By scoring in the
2022 UEFA Super Cup against
Eintracht Frankfurt on 10 August 2022, Benzema brought his tally to 324 goals, overtaking
Raúl as Real Madrid's all-time second-highest goalscorer. On 21 February 2023, Benzema scored a brace and grabbed an assist in a 5–2 comeback victory against Liverpool in the
Champions League last 16 first leg. He then scored the only goal in the return leg 3 weeks later. On 2 April 2023, Benzema scored a hat-trick in 6 minutes and 30 seconds in a 6–0 win over
Real Valladolid, to become the third fastest hat-trick scorer in his club's history in La Liga, only behind
Pahiño who netted three goals in 4 minutes in 1950 and
Fernando Hierro who scored them in 6 minutes in 1992. Just three days later, he scored a back-to-back hat-trick in a 4–0 away victory against Barcelona in the
Copa del Rey semi-finals, to become the second Real Madrid player to achieve this feat in
El Clásico after
Iván Zamorano in 1995 and the second Real Madrid player to score a hat-trick at the
Camp Nou after
Ferenc Puskás in 1963. On 6 May, Benzema was part of the team that won against
Osasuna in the
Copa del Rey final, thus matching Marcelo's record as the club's most decorated player with 25 trophies. On 4 June, Real Madrid confirmed that Benzema would depart from the club following the conclusion of the 2022–23 season. Benzema was given a rapturous reception by Madrid fans in his last game against Athletic Bilbao, in which he scored. Benzema was substituted for Luka Modric in the 74th minute, leaving the field to an ovation from the Madrid supporters.
Al-Ittihad in August 2025 On 6 June 2023,
Saudi Professional League club
Al-Ittihad announced the signing of Benzema on a free transfer. His contract stipulates that he can receive up to $100 million USD a year up until 2026.
2023–24: Debut season and club captaincy Benzema scored a goal and provided an assist on his debut on 27 July in a 2–1 victory over
Espérance de Tunis during the
Arab Club Champions Cup. In August 2023, he was made the club captain for Al-Ittihad. After his first season, Al-Ittihad finished in fifth place in the league with Benzema scoring 13 goals with 8 assists in 29 matches. The disappointing campaign led to a change in managerial position for the club, one of three changes in succession. Later on, he was reunited with his former French manager from 2010 to 2012, with
Laurent Blanc being appointed manager before the 2024–25 season.
2024–25: Domestic double For the
2024–25 Al-Ittihad Club season, Benzema clinched the league title on 15 May, scoring 21 goals in 28 games all the while contributing to 30 goals that season when the club won the league after achieving 77 points. Not only did the team win the league title, Benzema captained Al-Ittihad to the domestic double, beating
Al Qadsiah in the
2025 Saudi King's Cup Final in the
King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. As well as the team trophies, Benzema won the individual award of player of the season in the league.
2025–26: Mid-season departure On 30 August 2025, Benzema netted a hat-trick in a 5–2 win over
Al-Okhdood, bringing his career tally past the 500-goal milestone. In late January 2026, he reportedly refused to play for Al‑Ittihad due to a contract dispute, specifically rejecting an extension offer that reportedly included no base salary and relied largely on image rights, which he and his camp found disrespectful.
Al-Hilal On the final day of 2025–26 winter transfer window, Benzema completed a move to fellow Saudi Pro League club
Al Hilal on a free transfer, signing a contract until 2027. Three days later, he netted a hat-trick on his debut in a 6–0 away win over Al-Okhdood. ==International career==