Karim Benzema is the hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year, after leading Real Madrid to the Champions League and La Liga titles in the previous campaign. It is safe to say that the Frenchman deserves it as well, as he has been absolutely fantastic since Cristiano Ronaldo left the club in the summer of 2018, for Juventus.
The goalscoring burden fell on the shoulders of Benzema after that, and he has delivered. The Frenchman has flourished without the Portuguese legend by his side and is on the verge of being crowned the best player in the world.
Not only is Benzema a great goalscorer though, but also a player who drops deep and connects with his teammates, helping in the build up play as well. Thus, he is the very definition of a modern day number 9.
Clarence Seedorf has compared the Frenchman’s ability to work for the team to Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino. As reported by TUTTOmercatoWEB, the Dutch legend told Prime Video:
"“I Firmino would always put him in, in recent years Liverpool did well because he is a bit like Benzema at Real Madrid, he knows how to play a little lower and goes on the wings, he is a 9 who knows what it takes to the team and Klopp will bet a lot on him again this season, despite the arrival of Nunez.”"
Real Madrid superstar compared to Firmino
Firmino definitely has the ability to drop deep and work for his team. He is one of the biggest reasons why Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane enjoyed so much success, and scored so many goals, despite being wingers. The Brazilian’s ability to bring others into the game is unquestionable and one of his biggest attributes.
But at the same time, there is no question about the fact that he himself is not scoring anywhere near the rate of Benzema. The Frenchman has this ability to bring others into the game while also getting the ball in the back of the net consistently.
Of course, some could then argue that Benzema was not scoring nearly as much when Ronaldo was the focal point of the Real Madrid attack and that is true as well.