“I wanted to end up at Real Madrid, but in life sometimes there is another opportunity.” With these timid but heartfelt words, Karim Benzema closed one of the most glorious stages in the history of football, the one starring a unique player whose boots impregnated with art all those fields that he captivated with his unparalleled talent. “Many thanks to Real Madrid, to my teammates. It was a good path in my life. I have been lucky enough to make my dream come true as a child”, the Lyon native began his speech in an emotional institutional act in which he expressed his eternal love for the Chamartín club at the end of fourteen unforgettable campaigns that have helped him establish himself as one of the icons par excellence of the entity headed by Florentino Pérez, the man who personally went to his home in the summer of 2009 to make him one of the main heralds of his second spell at the helm of Real Madrid and that this Tuesday, five Champions Leagues and another a handful of titles later, he said goodbye to the striker with the affection that is professed to the most beloved family member.
«Thanks to the president, who a long time ago, at barely 21 years old, went to my house, with my parents. When I saw you I said: ‘he is the man who has brought Zizou and Ronaldo and now he wants me in his team'”, recalled Benzema in a solemn appearance without questions in which he was supported by his until now teammates Courtois, Modric, Lucas Vázquez and Nacho, club ambassadors such as Raúl González, Roberto Carlos and Arbeloa, coach Carlo Ancelotti and the staff of a Real Madrid team that Benzema will never forget. “It is impossible because it is the best club in history,” remarked the attacker, who, however, looked ahead. “It’s time to go and see another story,” he explained.
“It’s a bit of a sad day because I’m going to leave this club and it hurts me,” said Benzema, who clarified that he made “a very difficult decision” with his team but stressed that he will keep the team of his life in his heart. “Real Madrid will always be part of my family,” he argued before saying goodbye with the same shout that he uttered fourteen years ago when he jumped into the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time wearing the white jacket in front of some 35,000 fans who, even in their wildest dreams, could not having predicted the precious treasure that the French ‘9’ would bequeath to them: «One, two, three… Hello Madrid!».
«It was a good path in my life. I have been lucky to realize my dream as a child»
“Today is a very difficult day for me, a day in which memories and emotions lived in these fourteen years come to mind,” said a rueful Florentino Pérez minutes before, who praised “the magic of a unique player” and celebrated the “Enormous fortune” that Real Madrid has had to have “enjoyed” the inexhaustible top hat of the Frenchman during countless games in which he did “incredible things” with the elastic that Alfredo Di Stéfano, Paco Gento, Amancio Amaro exalted before him , Juanito, Emilio Butragueño, Raúl González Blanco or Cristiano Ronaldo.
The president of Real Madrid recalled that Benzema is “one of the great symbols” of the history of Real Madrid and one of its “greatest legends”, pointing out that he is “a benchmark of camaraderie, humility, work, respect, improvement and leadership.” “Today not one more player is leaving, today one of the most incredible footballers in our history says goodbye to us,” continued Florentino Pérez, who thanked Benzema for having moved “all of us who love football.”
An example”
The top manager of Real Madrid stressed that Benzema has always been “an example of behavior and professionalism” since he landed in the Spanish capital, to the point that, he said, throughout all these years he would not know how to put “a but” to French for “conduct” and “behavior”. For all this, argued Florentino Pérez, Benzema had earned the right to decide a destination that will take him to Saudi Al-Ittihad in exchange for some 200 million euros tax-free for the next two seasons and a bonus of 20 million more for become one of the ambassadors of the Saudi candidacy for the 2030 World Cup. “Thank you for this football love story that we have lived together and that is now eternal,” stressed the also president of the ACS construction company before imposing the gold and brilliant badge of the club.
“Thank you for this football love story that we have lived together and that is now eternal”
Florentino Perez
President of Real Madrid
Benzema says goodbye to Real Madrid, erected as its second highest scorer in history with 354 goals, the fifth footballer and foreigner with the most appearances (648) and the most successful along with Marcelo with 25 titles: five Champions Leagues, four Leagues, three Copas del Rey, five Club World Cups, four European Super Cups and four Spanish Super Cups.
He scored 20 goals or more in eleven of his fourteen seasons at Real Madrid but, above all, he was a cult player who condensed the best virtues of Real Madrid’s great totems. The controls and elegance of Zinedine Zidane, the power of Ronaldo Nazário, the leadership of Raúl González or the condition of Alfredo Di Stéfano as a total footballer were combined in the figure of the man from Lyon, a nine with a soul of ten who paired better than anyone the aesthetics with statistics. He leaves through the front door and with an amazing legacy behind him, as immense as the void he leaves in a club and a League that are left without the last of the titans who wrote some of the most beautiful pages in its history. A full-fledged Sun King.
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