The story of how Zinedine Zidane stopped Manchester United from getting Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is one of the most trending names in football these days. The Real Madrid striker, who is definitely the best footballer on this planet at the moment, is finally getting the respect he deserves from a lot of fans around the world.
Looking at his exploits in the Champions League, fans of every team can’t help but dream about the luxury of having a player like Benzema at their club, followed by a moment of realization that they could only dream. Even a pundit like Rio Ferdinand seems to be disappointed with the fact that he didn’t get to play alongside a player like Benzema in his career, knowing how close Benzema was to joining Manchester United in 2009.
But he revealed an interesting fact about Benzema’s transfer in 2009, claiming on BT Sport that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign the Frenchman back then, but Zinedine Zidane changed everything and influenced Benzema to sign for his dream club, Real Madrid.
This is something Ferdinand had mentioned in the past as well, and it is indeed true that it was Zidane’s advice that made Benzema change his mind. Zidane did his part at Real Madrid as well, something which ensured that Florentino Perez himself went to France to meet Benzema and his family, to facilitate Benzema’s transfer to Real Madrid.
This is another incident that proves that Zidane has always been there for Real Madrid
Zidane was appointed as Real Madrid’s sporting advisor in November 2010, but this incident happened in 2009. The fact that he played a crucial role in Benzema’s transfer even while not being an official part of Real Madrid is something that shows Zidane’s affection for Real Madrid. To convince a player to join a huge club like Real Madrid when the player himself believes that he isn’t mentally ready for the challenge is no easy job, and it shows how effective Zidane’s advice proved to be. It also talks about the immense respect Karim Benzema had for a legend like Zidane.
In hindsight, we can all appreciate Zidane’s genius, but the man has always been ahead of everyone in terms of being a visionary, and he has also done a lot for the club. He has played a key role in the transfer of Raphael Varane as well and placed a lot of faith in a player who went on to win a lot of trophies for Real Madrid.
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And one doesn’t need any introduction to Zidane’s exploits as a manager at Real Madrid. The Frenchman’s contribution to the club has been unparalleled, and he has been a crisis man for the club. He has simply never been away from Real Madrid and has always been there for the club.