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Karim Benzema climbed into the top five of LaLiga’s all-time goalscorers on Wednesday, after scoring twice in Real Madrid‘s 4-0 win over Elche.
Benzema’s first strike put him ahead of Madrid great Raul Gonzalez onto 229 LaLiga goals, after he passed another club legend, Alfredo di Stefano, last month.
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Now on 230 goals, the only players to have scored more than Benzema are Mexico’s Hugo Sanchez — who starred for Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano — with 234 goals, Athletic Club forward Telmo Zarra with 251, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with 311 and 474 respectively.
“Karim is a player who isn’t just a forward, he’s a complete player, he combines well with his teammates, players like Rodrygo tonight, he’s always ready in the penalty area and he helps us a lot in possession,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said of Benzema after his latest milestone.
“Karim is having a fantastic career, let’s hope he can carry on, every Madrid fan wants him to be at this level.”
– Benzema joins LaLiga legends in top five goal scorers
Benzema joined Madrid from Lyon in 2009 and is now in his 14th season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He has won five Champions Leagues in that time — in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022 — and four LaLiga titles, as well as two Copas del Rey, four Spanish Supercopas, four UEFA Super Cups and four Club World Cups.
Benzema adopted the mantle of Madrid’s main goal scorer when Cristiano Ronaldo left the club in 2018. He scored a career-best 27 LaLiga goals in the 2021-22 season as Madrid won the league, while grabbing 15 Champions League goals — 10 of them in the knockout phase — in comeback wins over Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Those performances were rewarded with the 2022 Ballon d’Or, winning the coveted individual prize for the first time in October last year.