10 things you need to know about Karim Benzema PLUS watch his best goals and skills

By Football Spy in Football Spy

Published 11:37 25/05/11

• 

Arsene Wenger has dropped a massive hint that Arsenal could make a big money move for Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema this summer.

But what do we know about the heir to Zinedine Zidane's throne? Football Spy has all the answers...

1) Karim Benzema was born on 19 December, 1987 in Lyon. As he is of Algerian-Berber origin, likes wearing the No10 shirt and has a similar appearance to Zinedine Zidane, he's often been labelled 'the new Zizou'. His childhood hero, however, was Ronaldo, who he has gone on record as saying is "the best player of all time".

2) The striker has been earmarked for greatness pretty much since joining Lyon as a nine year-old. After storming through their youth ranks - Benzema bagged 38 goals in one season for the Under-16s and scored 12 in 14 games for the Under-18s - he signed his first pro contract in 2004.

3) Then-Lyon boss Gérard Houllier thought Benzema was still too young to make much of an impact in the first-team, but the lad hinted at his special potential when he set a goal up on debut against FC Metz in January 2005. After coming on as a late substitute, he cheekily dinked the ball over a bamboozled defender before centring neatly for Bryan Bergougnoux to stab in a winner. Benzema made an even greater impact on his Champions League bow the following season, finding the net himself against Rosenborg.

4) When Houllier stepped down from the Lyon hot-seat his successor, Alain Perrin, gave Benzema a more important role in the team. And he responded to his manager's faith by smashing in 24 goals in 37 games in the 2006-07 season.

5) The following season he scored an incredible 34 times: with head, left-foot, right-foot, chip, volley and dead-ball. He was Ligue 1's top scorer and named player of the season - not bad for a 20-year-old. He collected his fourth league title with Lyon - his eighth trophy for the club overall. Benzema also drew lavish praise from Sir Alex Ferguson after scoring against Manchester United in the Champions League - an act that sparked a tapping-up row.

6) Wary that their charge was fast becoming the most coveted young player in Europe, Lyon tied Benzema down to a five-year deal in March 2008. And even though the 2008-09 season was a comparative disappointment - Lyon lost their league title and Benzema 'only' scored 23 goals (including five in the Champions League) - the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester United continued to show a keen interest. Here's why...

7) In the summer of 2009, Real Madrid got their man, signing Benzema on a six-year deal for an eye-watering €35million. He made his debut on August 29 against Deportivo La Coruna and bagged his first goal in a 5-0 rout of Xerez a month later. Benzema found goals - and games - hard to come by in Spain, though, and he finished the season with a scoring tally of just eight goals from 27 La Liga matches.

8) Things picked up with the arrival of Jose Mourinho in summer 2010, though, and Benzema made hay in the sunshine afforded him by an injury to Gonzalo Higuain. He bagged 23 goals in all competitions - including Real Madrid's 300th Champions League goal (against Auxerre) and his own 100th career goal against - ironically - Lyon at the Stade de Gerland. Here's Benzema's best bits from that season"

9) His international career has been similarly stellar. Benzema netted 14 goals in only 17 matches for France Under-17s and his team (which also included Arsenal's Samir Nasri) were crowned U-17s European champions on home soil in 2004.

10) In December 2006, he turned down Algeria to declare for the French senior team, stating: "Algeria is my parents’ country and it is in my heart, but football-wise I will only play for the French national team." Benzema promptly scored on his debut against Austria the following March. He's since scored a dozen goals from 35 appearances, but was controversially left out of the 2010 World Cup squad. Then-manager Raymond Domenech explained that this was due to poor form but, coincidentally, Benzema had also been caught up in an underage sex scandal that had rocked French football that April. Still, given what actually happened to the French side in South Africa, he actually had quite a close escape...

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!