Where does Karim Benzema rank among the best French strikers of all time?
Real Madrid’s talisman Karim Benzema recently became the highest-scoring French player in history. He also made headway to replace the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano to become the third-highest goal scorer for Real Madrid in history. Currently, he sits at 311 goals only 13 behind Raul who is currently the second-highest scorer for Real Madrid with 324 goals. It is reasonable to argue that Benzema will soon surpass the Spaniard and sit at his spot.
While Benzema’s scoring exploits at 34 years of age are taking the football world by surprise, I was intrigued to find out where he’d rank among the best French strikers of all time. Therefore, here is a list of the top five French Strikers in history to answer the same question.
5. David Trezeguet
When we talk of French football, David Trezeguet is one name that is always uttered with the utmost respect. The scorer of the golden goal that won Les Blues the European Championships in 2000, Trezeguet’s name would always go down in history as one of the French greats of the game.
He played the center-forward role in the iconic French side that featured Zinedine Zidane, arguably the best French player in history. Trezeguet was still able to make a name for himself despite being surrounded by stars. With 34 goals for the National outfit, he is the sixth-highest scorer for France in history.
However, International football is only the trailer of his goal scoring. His real exploits were with the old lady. He played for Juventus from 2000 to 2010, his longest stint with any club. He is an undisputed legend in Turin with 171 goals for the club. He is Juventus’s fourth highest goal scorer in history. Paulo Dybala is the closest active player who could challenge Trezeguet’s position although he is behind by a good 58 goals margin.
He has five major titles with Juventus that include two Serie A wins. He was a part of the squad that lifted the World Cup for France in 1998 and was the scorer of the infamous golden goal against Italy that won France the European Championship in 2000. He also ended up as the top scorer of Seria A in the 2001/02 season with 24 goals to his name. What a champion!