Karim Benzema sat down with the social media team of Al Ittihad to name his Dream Team squad. Surprisingly, the Frenchman didn’t include Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in his team.
This is Benzema’s Dream Team lineup: Manuel Neuer; Dani Alves, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Claude Makelele, Paul Pogba; Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Karim Benzema.
The 35-year-old named many of his former Real Madrid teammates, as well as fellow countrymen and prominent opponents. However, the fact that he snubbed both Messi and CR7 makes noise.
Benzema’s history with Ronaldo and Messi
Benzema spent many years next to the Portuguese striker at Real Madrid, while he faced Leo on several occasions when the Argentine superstar played at Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Karim Benzema after a Real Madrid goal in 2014.
The striker won multiple titles playing alongside Ronaldo, forming a mighty offensive trio with CR7 and Gareth Bale, dubbed by the Spanish press as the BBC (Bale-Benzema-Cristiano).
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But it wasn’t until Ronaldo left that Benzema started to get more recognition. Messi’s presence at Barcelona also overshadowed Benzema for a while, until he left LaLiga in 2021 to play for PSG.
In the first season without Messi or Ronaldo in Spain, the Frenchman took all the limelight. Benzema proved he could carry Real Madrid in a fantastic 2021-22 season that earned him the Ballon d’Or. Before that, only Luka Modric managed to end the Messi-Ronaldo dominance at the award.
