“If Karim Benzema doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or this year, then there is something wrong with the votes”- Thibaut Courtois
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Karim Benzema with Thibaut Courtois
Speaking in a press conference before the Champions League final, Thibaut Courtois has claimed something would be wrong with the Ballon d’Or voting system if Karim Benzema doesn’t win it this year. He also claimed that he was ‘dying for years’ to join Real Madrid as the club responds to Kylian Mbappe’s shocking snub of the Spanish giants.
“If Karim Benzema doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or this year, then there is something wrong with the votes,” said Courtois.
What did Thibaut Courtois talk about at the press conference?
Paris Saint-Germain’s star forward Kylian Mbappe, 23, was expected to join Los Blancos this summer on a free transfer when his contract in the French capital expired. However, he eventually agreed on a gargantuan new three-year deal at the Parc des Princes which will see him become the world’s highest-paid footballer, at around £1million-a-week, with LaLiga set to file a complaint about the deal.
The reaction from Spain has been one of surprise, shock, and anger – and Real goalkeeper Courtois, speaking ahead of the club’s Champions League final against Liverpool on Saturday, insisted he knows the value of playing for the historic club.
He said: “Each player makes their own choices and decisions, and no one can know why they make them. I, personally, was dying for years, because I wanted to come to Real Madrid, and now I know how special it is to play at Real Madrid.”
Real Madrid was prepared to give Kylian Mbappe a signing-on fee of £110m and wages of £20m-a-year after tax, with an overall investment of circa £300m in the deal, according to reports.
After signing the contract, Mbappe said: “I would like to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain, and of course I am delighted.”
“I am convinced I can continue to grow at a club that provides everything necessary to perform at the highest level. I am also delighted to continue to play in France, the country where I was born, where I have grown up, and where I have made my name,” he added.
How has Karim Benzema performed this season?
Benzema has been in the form of his life this season. He has scored goals for fun this season. He has 59 GA in just 44 games this season.
When he arrived in Madrid in 2009 nine days after world-record signing Cristiano Ronaldo for a third of the fee it felt like an afterthought. Hundreds more millions were spent on forwards, yet all have revolved around Benzema-like planets orbiting a sun. Even now.
He still looks lean and fit. He’s still sharp and nifty. His quick feet and fast thought when the score was goalless almost lead to a Real Madrid opener. The clever back-heel on the side-line initiated a move that Vinicius crashed onto Chelsea’s crossbar.
And Benzema has formed a productive partnership with Vinicius Junior, a forward 13 years his junior, who seems to thrive off the speed of his younger team-mate, to almost utilize his team-mate’s fresher legs for his own gain.
The theory goes that the older a player gets, the harder it should be to surpass their age in goals. This season, Benzema already has 59 GA in 45 games for club and country — 13 in his last seven.
He has roomfuls of trophies, and castles full of goals. And much of this was achieved while playing during some pretty stressful times of his own making. Nine years playing under the cloud of serious criminal offenses that would break other players.
Let’s take a look at a breakdown of his stats by competition this season to see the beast that has been Karim Benzema this season.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)