Karim Benzema, sparkling with Real Madrid, is ‘probably the best centre-forward in the world’ and ‘the most underrated player in history’, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said on Friday in an interview with AFP before the Champions League final on Saturday.
“For sure, he’s one of the best players in the world, probably the best centre-forward in the world and maybe the most underrated player in history,” the Slovenian leader commented to the eve of the poster between Real and Liverpool at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (9 p.m.).
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Benzema (34), at the top of his game with 44 goals in 45 matches in a Real jersey this season, is alone at the top of the 2021-2022 Champions League scorer rankings (15 goals), to the point of making is a big favorite for the Ballon d’Or if he wins a fifth European title on Saturday.
The French international would equal the five trophies won by his former partner Cristiano Ronaldo, one unit behind the record holder Paco Gento (6 titles in C1). And in the event of a double, he could dispossess the Portuguese of one of his many records, that of the number of goals scored in a single Champions League season (17 in 2013-2014), after having evolved for a long time in the service of ” CR7” at Real.
“He was always in the shadow of other players. But we now see that he is incredible, ”commented Ceferin, admiringly. “Sometimes, even though I’m sure he’s not in a position to score, he scores!” he enthused. The Ballon d’Or, a prestigious individual award given to the best player of the season, will be awarded on October 17 in Paris.
