Benzema says Perez visit convinced him to join Real Madrid in 2009
Florentino Perez turned up unannounced at Karim Benzema’s family home in 2009 to ensure Real Madrid beat rivals Barcelona and Man United to his signature… as the Ballon d’Or winner reveals Bernabeu chief assured him he would be ‘best in the world’
- Karim Benzema was set for a big-money move in 2009 after impressing at Lyon
- Barcelona and Manchester United were interested in signing the forward
- He opted to join Real Madrid after an unannounced visit from Florentino Perez
- Perez told Benzema he would be the ‘best in the world’ at Real Madrid
- This has proved correct as Benzema won the Ballon d’Or on Monday night
Karim Benzema has revealed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez turned up at his house unannounced to beat off competition from Barcelona and Manchester United for his signature in 2009.
After bursting onto the scene with Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, Benzema was wanted by some of European football’s biggest clubs 12 years ago.
He had a tough decision to make on his future, but he has explained how a personal visit from Perez helped him make his mind up. The 34-year-old has also stated that Perez told him he would become a world-beater if he moved to Madrid, which has proved to be the case after the Frenchman won his first Ballon d’Or on Monday night.
Florentino Perez turned up at Karim Benzema’s house to persuade him to join Real Madrid
He convinced Benzema to sign by telling him he would be the best player in the world
Speaking about how his move to Madrid came about, Benzema said in an interview with Onda Cero: ‘I remember I was with my friends. They called me, my family and agent, to tell me that I had to go home quickly, that we had to talk.
‘I told them I didn’t have time , and they told me “you have to come, Florentino is here.” I opened the door and saw him, I didn’t say anything, just “hello”.’
Perez then told him: ‘You will be the best in the world and the place to achieve it is Real Madrid.’
Benzema did not need any more convincing and he joined Madrid in July 2009 in the same summer that Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka also moved to the club.
At the time, Benzema admitted there had been interest from numerous clubs, but spoke of his pride at getting the chance to play for Madrid.
Perez’s prediction came true as Benzema won his first Ballon d’Or on Monday night in Paris
‘There were quite a few clubs that contacted me, like Manchester [United], Inter and Barcelona, but I decided to come here,’ he said.
‘Real Madrid are an excellent club. I’ve dreamt about playing here since I was 15 years old. Florentino [Pérez] spoke to me about the team and the project that he wanted to create.
‘It was very exciting. Real Madrid fans have a special relationship with the players and I am very grateful for that. I felt some strong emotions today and that’s why I kissed the badge.’
Since then, Benzema has gone on to play 615 matches for Madrid, scoring 328 goals.
He had his best goalscoring campaign last term, netting 45 times in all competitions to lead Madrid to the Champions League and LaLiga double, which was enough to earn him the Ballon d’Or ahead of Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne.
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