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Despite a lot of speculation, Karim Benzema will not leave Real Madrid at the end of his current contract, as per reports in France. The striker has spent over a decade at Real Madrid winning several trophies and accolades along the way.
Benzema joined Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2009 for a fee of just over €35 million. It has been reported that Benzema has his heart set on a return to his homeland, particularly by Spanish media. However, these claims have been refuted by the French media, who insist that Benzema is keen on hanging up his boots while at Real Madrid.
'Benzema dreams of retiring at Real Madrid'
French football journalist Frédéric Hermel, speaking to RMC, has claimed that a move away from Real Madrid is ruled out for his fellow Frenchman. Speaking on RMC's program L'After Foot, the reliable journalist commented on Benzema saying,
"Karim Benzema will finish his career at Real Madrid. That is for sure. He is in excellent shape and is finally adored by the fans after so long."
There was a general conception that he was an underappreciated player due to the presence of a stellar attacking presence such a Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema has been selfless in his partnership with the iconic Portuguese. Since Cristiano's departure, Benzema has shown the Real Madrid faithful the extent of his unbelievable ability.
Hermel continued as he spoke about Benzema's dream of retiring in Madrid. He added,
"Honestly, his (Karim Benzema) goal is to finish his career at Madrid. He has fulfilled his dream playing at Real. Having done it before for Lyon and then for Real (Madrid) is a dream for a footballer like Karim."
The reliable French journalist also insists that Benzema is not the type of striker who will settle for a lesser move under such circumstances.
"He (Karim Benzema) doesn't take it as 'I'm not at Madrid's level anymore, so I'm going back to Lyon.' He would never do that."
Benzema has etched his name into Real Madrid folklore since he arrived from his boyhood club, Lyon. The Frenchman has helped Real Madrid to four UEFA Champions League titles and several other trophies.
In his 11 years at the club, Benzema has scored 241 goals with his next target being Ferenc Puskás (242) and Santillana (290) on the all-time Los Blancos scorers list. He already has 19 goals across all competitions in the 2019/20 campaign.
In 2019, Benzema revealed his delight at being the one to 'lead the attack' for Real Madrid after Cristiano's departure to Turin. The Frenchman said,
"Now I’m the one leading the attack. I used to play for Cristiano and I was trying to find him so that he could score even more goals. I was under the radar, now it’s up to me to prove that I want to score goals."
Spanish newspaper AS reported as recently as yesterday that the former Lyon man was set for a move back to his homeland in June 2022. That would mean that he would be 34 at the time, a relatively similar age to Cristiano's when he left for Juventus as well as that of Luka Modrić, whose future is unclear. The Croatian is largely expected to leave in the near future.
