Karim Mostafa Benzema is a French professional footballer, presently playing as a striker for the French national football team and the Spanish professional football club ‘Real Madrid.’ He joined the Lyon-based French football club ‘Olympique Lyonnais,’ better known as ‘Lyon,’ at the age of 9. He made his professional debut in the 2004â€"2005 season and rose to prominence in the 2007â€"2008 season, becoming the season’s top scorer, netting over 30 goals, as ‘Lyon’ clinched their seventh league title in a row. He was named the ‘Ligue 1 Player of the Year’ and was enlisted in the ‘Team of the Year’ by the ‘National Union of Professional Footballers’ (UNFP). He signed a six-year contract with ‘Real Madrid’ in 2009 and has so far achieved several feats with the club, including winning the ‘Copa del Rey’ and the ‘La Liga.’ He won the ‘French Player of the Year’ award thrice. His performance as part of the national team is equally impressive. He was part of the ‘Under-17’ team that won the 2004 ‘UEFA European Under-17 Championship.’ After making his senior debut in March 2007, he was part of three major international tournaments, namely, the ‘UEFA European Football Championship’ in 2008 and 2012, and the 2014 ‘FIFA World Cup.’
He was born on December 19, 1987, in Lyon, France, to Hafid Benzema and Wahida Djebbara, French nationals of Algerian descent. He grew up in a small house in Bron and led a modest lifestyle along with his eight siblings.
He began his career in football at the age of 8, joining the local football club ‘Bron Terraillon SC.’ Sabri and Gressy, his younger brothers, also became footballers. Benzema attracted the attention of the club officials of ‘Lyon’ after netting two goals against the youth academy of the club in an ‘Under-10’ match. He eventually joined ‘Lyon’ in 1996.
After joining Lyon, he was made part of the academy of the club, where he soon climbed up the youth categories. The French domestic league ‘Championnat National des 16 ans,’ for footballers below the age of 16, saw him scoring 38 goals.
He was elevated to the reserve team of the club that participated in the football league competition ‘Championnat de France Amateur,’ prior to the 2004â€"2005 season of the ‘Ligue 1.’
He made his professional debut on January 15, 2005, against ‘FC Metz.’ ‘Lyon’ won the match 2â€"0. Thereafter, Benzzema signed a three-year professional contract. The club earned its fourth successive league title that season.
He made his ‘UEFA Champions League’ debut on December 6, 2005, in the final group-stage match of ‘Lyon,’ against the Norwegian club ‘Rosenborg,’ which the club won 2â€"1. The match marked the first professional goal scored by Benzema.
He scored his first professional double in January 2006, when ‘Lyon’ won 4â€"0 against ‘Grenoble’ in the ‘Coupe de France.’ On March 4, the same year, he garnered his first professional league goal of his career, playing against ‘Ajaccio.’
He played as the lead striker during the 2007â€"2008 season. He scored 20 goals and topped the league, a feat that fetched him the ‘Trophée du Meilleur Buteur’ award. He netted a goal in the ‘Coupe de la Ligue,’ scored four goals in the ‘Champions League,’ and made six goals in six ‘Coupe de France’ matches, aiding ‘Lyon’ in earning the first double in the history of the club. He also delivered a hat-trick that season, on September 15, against ‘Metz.’
He had a contract extension with ‘Lyon’ on March 13, 2008, which meant he would be retained till 2013, with an option for an extension of another year. That season, the ‘UNFP’ named him the ‘Ligue 1 Player of the Year’ and enlisted him in the ‘Team of the Year.’ He also received the ‘Bravo Award’ from the Italian magazine ‘Guerin Sportivo’ in 2008.
On July 9, 2009, he signed a six-year contract with the Spanish professional football club ‘Real Madrid.’ His debut with the club was on its opening pre-season friendly match with the Irish club ‘Shamrock Rovers’ in Dublin, on July 20 that year. He scored his first goal for the club in the same match and led them to a 1â€"0 win.
An annual friendly tournament organized for the ‘Santiago Bernabeu Trophy’ saw him scoring two goals against the Norwegian club ‘Rosenborg’ on August 24, 2009, when ‘Real Madrid’ clinched a 4-0 win.
On August 29, 2009, he made his league debut, playing against ‘Deportivo La Coruña.’ He netted his first league goal for ‘Real Madrid’ in September 2009, and the club won 5-0 over ‘Xerez.’ He made his ‘Champions League’ debut for ‘Real Madrid’ on September 30 that year.
His first hat-trick for the club was during the 2010â€"2011 season, in a match against ‘Auxerre.’ ‘Real Madrid’ garnered a 4â€"0 victory in the same match. The first of his three goals marked the 300th goal of ‘Real Madrid’ in the ‘Champions League’ era. He scored his second hat-trick for the club in a ‘Copa del Rey’ match against ‘Levante,’ which‘Real Madrid’ won 8â€"0.
He was part of the ‘Real Madrid’ squad that scored a 1â€"0 win against ‘Barcelona’ in the ‘Copa del Rey’ finals, on April 20, 2011, at the ‘Mestalla Stadium.’ On December 10, 2011, he scored the fastest goal in an ‘El Clásico’ in just 21 seconds of the match. On December 13 that year, he was named the ‘French Player of the Year’ by ‘France Football,’ an honor he earned again in 2012 and 2014.
He won his second ‘Copa del Rey’ with ‘Real Madrid,’ when the club scored a 2â€"1 victory over ‘Barcelona’ on April 16, 2014, at ‘Mestalla’ in Valencia.
A new five-year deal between Benzema and ‘Real Madrid’ was confirmed by the club on August 6, 2014. The deal stated that Benzema would be with the club till 2019. In October that year, he was named the ‘La Liga Player of the Month.’
He signed a contract extension with the club on September 20, 2017, which meant he would be retained till 2021.
Benzema’s stint with ‘Real Madrid’ has been eventful so far. He was part of the club’s squad that became the champion of ‘La Liga’ during the 2011â€"2012 and the 2016â€"2017 seasons. He won the ‘Supercopa de España’ with the club, in 2012 and 2017. Benzema was also part of the club squad that won the ‘UEFA Champions League’ in the 2013â€"2014, the 2015â€"2016, and the 2016â€"2017 seasons. Benzema won both the ‘UEFA Super Cup’ and the ‘FIFA Club World Cup’ with the club, in 2014, 2016, and 2017.
His international career saw him representing France from a young age, starting from the ‘Under-17’ level. He was part of the ‘Under-17’ team that won the 2004 ‘UEFA European Under-17 Championship,’ defeating Spain 2â€"1, on May 15, 2004.
He made his senior international debut on March 28, 2007, and represented France in the ‘UEFA European Football Championship’ in 2008 and 2012. He was also part of the French squad that participated in the 2014 ‘FIFA World Cup.’ He has garnered over 80 caps so far. However, he was not included in the squads for the 2010 ‘FIFA World Cup’ and 2016 ‘UEFA European Championship.’
He was romantically associated with Manon Marsault from 2010 to 2013.
He has two children: daughter Mélia, born on February 3, 2014, and son Ibrahim, born on May 5, 2017.
He is a practicing Muslim who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
He fell on the wrong side of law twice. He was charged for "solicitation of a minor prostitute," an incident that was first reported by French TV channel ‘M6’ on April 18, 2010. The case is under trial. In another incident, the French police arrested him on November 4, 2015, for blackmailing French international footballer Mathieu Valbuena.
