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Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has showered praise on Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema, insisting the Frenchman deserves to win every accolade, including the Ballon d’Or.
Los Blancos skipper Karim Benzema produced an examplery performance in Wednesday night's Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Chelsea. The 34-year-old scored a match-winning hat-trick against the Blues, ensuring a 3-1 win for Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
The France international opened the scoring in the 21st minute, guiding a curling effort past Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy. Three minutes later, he doubled his tally, scoring a looping header from Luka Modric’s cross. Benzema completed his hat-trick in the 46th minute, bundling the ball into an empty net after capitalizing on the miscommunication between Mendy and Antonio Rudiger.
Leboeuf has been left spellbound by the No. 9’s performance and has hailed him as either the best or the joint-best striker alongside Kylian Mbappe. Discussing the Real Madrid skipper’s quality, the 54-year-old said on ESPN:
“I don't give credit to the people who win the Ballon d’Or because I don't give a stuff about it, but I will give credit to Karim Benzema because he is definitely, if not the best striker, he will have to share it with Mbappe.”
The former Premier League star was particularly impressed with the way Benzema scored the third goal, adding:
“Ask people to watch the 3rd goal, yes it's a mistake between Mendy and Rudiger but what Benzema does with a 50 metre sprint to chase Mendy and then Rudiger is absolutely fantastic.”
Finally, he insisted that the Los Blancos captain deserved everything, stating he would give his compatriot 10 Ballons d’Or if it were up to him.
The former France international concluded by saying:
“Professionally talking, this guy gives everything to his club and he deserves all the credit. The Ballon d’Or if you want I give him 10 Ballon d’Or's no problem.”
Following his hat-trick on Wednesday, the four-time Champions League winner has become the only player to score a treble against Chelsea in the competition. He has scored 11 UCL goals this season, making him the second-leading scorer behind Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (12).
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema has a realistic chance of winning the Ballon d’Or this year
Although there is plenty of life left in the 2021-22 campaign, one cannot help but speculate about the 2022 Ballon d’Or standings. As of right now, Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema seems to be the undisputed frontrunner.
He is the leading scorer in La Liga (24 goals), the second-leading goal-getter in the Champions League (11), and has 13 assists to his name across competitions this season. He has also scored two consecutive Champions League hat-tricks in knockout rounds, which should also help his case.
If Real Madrid don’t surrender their La Liga lead and make it to the Champions League final, Benzema should feel optimistic about his chances of winning the prestigious accolade. With some luck, the 34-year-old could very well become the second Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d’Or since Luka Modric in 2018.
