Zinedine Zidane admits that Karim Benzema is France’s best striker of all time.
The 34-year-old won the 2022 Ballon d’Or on Monday evening following a spectacular season with Real Madrid, one in which he scored 44 goals and added 15 assists in 46 appearances en route to winning La Liga and the Champions League.
Benzema scored 15 goals in the latter competition alone, including a hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain and significant goals against Manchester City in the knockout stages.
With his Ballon d’Or victory, Benzema joined the esteemed list of Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, and Raymond Kopa as the first French player to win the trophy since Zidane in 1998 and only the fifth overall.
Zidane revealed that Benzema is the best striker France has ever produced in an exclusive interview with the French publication L’Equipe. Zidane spoke extensively about Benzema’s success.
In addition, Zidane discussed Benzema’s influence on his career as a manager and praised him for his remarkable consistency over the previous few seasons.
“The best striker in the history of French football? I don’t like to say ‘he’s the best’, everyone has their favourite player. Some will tell you it’s Jean-Pierre Papin with his exceptional goals, others will talk about Michel Platini…For me, it’s Karim, yes, because I worked with him and I know what it is worth.
