Karim Benzema’s Ballon d’Or win was the culmination of a journey that he had been on since the day he put on a Real Madrid shirt. A club where superstars are made, for years, he had been the one working in the background while the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale grabbed most of the headlines.
It was only after the departure of Ronaldo in the summer of 2018 to join Juventus that he became the focal point of this Real Madrid team and he has certainly carried the mantle with great care since then, always being a consistent source of goals.
He was not always this player though. There were phases in his career when he was written off and calls were made to bring a striker in, who is more prolific in front of goal.
One man who did play a vital role in Benzema’s early Real Madrid career though is Jose Mourinho, who managed the club for three seasons and was instrumental in preventing Barcelona from completely dominating the Spanish game, when they were at their peak under the management of Pep Guardiola.
Mourinho sends message to Real Madrid superstar on Ballon d’Or win
Mourinho had a message for Benzema on his Ballon d’Or win. A ‘special’ message, if you so will. As reported by the Mirror, the Portuguese manager said:
"“Karim is a great character, great personality, a team guy. He is not obsessed with himself, he is not obsessed with the Ballon d’Or, he is not a guy obsessed with scoring more goals than A, B or C. He is just a team guy who does a lot in a way that the Ballon d’Or that becomes a natural consequence. I think he is a guy obsessed with his team.”"
And in many ways, that is the perfect tribute to Benzema, someone who has always done what is best for the team, even though it might not have helped him become the biggest of stars in the game or needed him to take up a background role.
Now, Benzema is finally earning the plaudits at 34 years of age and it is safe to say that he has earned each and every one of them through years of hard work and dedication to the game of football and Real Madrid.