Ball – “Ronaldo was more effective than me” (Real Madrid)

Karim Benzema talked about the changes his playing style went through at Real Madrid with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“It’s easy. When Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid, he scored 50-60 goals a year. So, it is necessary to adapt to this reality. My movements gave him an advantage on the field, generating spaces, because I exchanged the ball well in the opponent’s area. He was more effective than I was. I offered him help as he did me. When he left, what changed was that I took on his responsibilities to score goals and help the rest of my teammates. I don’t play like Cristiano Ronaldo nor do Benzema. I didn’t turn from a lieutenant into a captain. Nobody says they had to give him the ball. I played with him because he scored twice as many goals. The gameplay didn’t get more natural with his passing. I don’t mean to say now everything goes through me, but at that time I made more and it’s finished. Now I create and finish. In Lyon, that’s what he did. Now, I do it at Real Madrid. When Cristiano was there, he created chances and scored goals, “explained the striker, in an interview with France Football.

Benzema also revealed the players he most loved to play with: “They were Cristiano Ronaldo, Juninho, Fred, Ozil and Zidane.”