It’s no secret that Real Madrid were affected by the sudden departure of Frenchman Karim Benzema from the Royal ranks last summer.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Real Madrid woke up “orphaned” by Benzema on June 5 last year when the French striker announced his sudden farewell after a 14-year career in the royal shirt.
Benzema is the second top scorer in the club’s history (354 goals) and a title-winning player alongside Marcelo (25 titles), and he has also won 5 Champions League titles.
100 days without Benzema and number 9️⃣🇫🇷
We miss you Karim @Benzemapic.twitter.com/5KlNghpeM1— IDN White Madrid (@WhiteMadridIDN) September 12, 2023
The newspaper noted that 100 days after Benzema said goodbye to Real Madrid, the ghost of the French striker still looms over many aspects that the team has not yet overcome and the void he left has not been fully filled.
She added: “Real Madrid no longer have a striker after Benzema left and Kylian Mbappe’s arrival was postponed until next summer, so the club were forced to select Joselu this season.”
She added: “Real Madrid have suffered from the absence of their top scorer, who has been partially replaced by Jude Bellingham, but that is not his role and it is difficult for his goalscoring figures to match his French counterpart.”
Benzema has scored almost 30 goals in the last five seasons: “30 (18-19), 27 (19-20), 30 (20-21), 44 (21-22), 31 (22-23).”
Real Madrid had lost a great leader who wore the armband on the pitch, whether by seniority or merit, and there was no doubt about it.
The situation is different now, as the badge is exchanged between Nacho, Modric, Carvajal and Kroos, and Carvajal is the only regular starter among the leaders.
One of the negative consequences of Benzema’s departure is the choice of a successor to take penalties, which has led to a bit of chaos at Real Madrid.
Everything pointed to Vinicius being Benzema’s heir to the penalty spot, according to coach Carlo Ancelotti, but the Brazilian missed his first shot, which hit the crossbar in a friendly against Barcelona, during the preparation period.
Source: “Media”