Karim Benzema says it was a ‘dream’ to emulate Zinedine Zidane by winning Ballon d’Or – ‘Always on my mind’

Karim Benzema has described winning the Ballon d’Or as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream, while the Real Madrid striker said his fifth Champions League triumph last season was the most special of his career.

It was just reward for a sensational year in which he finished the 2021/22 campaign as a Champions League and La Liga winner, scoring 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions.

Benzema was the oldest winner of the Ballon d’Or since Stanley Matthews in 1956, and the first French winner since his former Real coach Zinedine Zidane in 1998 – who he name-checked as an inspiration.

“Ever since I was a kid, it’s been one of my goals and dreams,” Benzema told GQ, speaking before knowing if he had won the award.

“It wasn’t something I thought about every day. I didn’t go to training sessions because I wanted to win the Ballon d’Or, it wasn’t like that.

“But it has always been on my mind since I was a child. I grew up with the generation that included Zizou [Zidane], and Ronaldo, from Brazil. Those players won the Ballon d’Or. And that was it – I came to love football from watching them.

“So, it was a goal since I was little, or maybe more of a dream. Last year, when I finished fourth, I was in the running, but I hadn’t won the big collective trophies. This year, I won everything.”

The striker, who is likely to feature at the World Cup for France next month, explained that he had to work hard to make a success of his career.

Real Madrid signed the striker from Lyon in 2009, but often found himself in Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow at the Bernabeu and has found his most prolific form since the Portuguese’s departure in 2018, scoring more than 20 league goals in each of the last four seasons.

Benzema reflected on his start to life in a new country as a 21-year-old as a particularly challenging period.

“The beginning was difficult, very difficult, because I was very young at the time and all alone in Madrid,” he said.

“I did not speak the language. It was complicated, the first season, but it also allowed me to reflect and to say: ‘It is not easy. I have talent, I have everything it takes to succeed with this club, now I have to look at what I need to do to improve, to do better and to continue to grow with this club. If I continue at the level I am at now, I will not be able to succeed’.”

“Starting from then, it has been a steady crescendo until today, where I am now.”

Benzema’s Champions League triumph with Carlo Ancelotti’s side last season was the fifth of his career, all of which came in the space of eight years.

He has also won four Ligue 1 titles with Lyon, four La Liga titles in Madrid and four FIFA Club World Cup trophies, among other honours.

The striker was asked about the moments in his career that have left the biggest impression.

“There have been several,” he said.

“There was the first goal in the Champions League in Lyon, when Gerard Houllier, the coach, gave me a chance. I managed to score at the Gerland stadium in front of my family, and there have been others.

“Later, when I debuted with Madrid. Those were exceptional moments. The first goal I scored was like that too.

“There’s also the more recent Champions League where, even though I had won four Champions Leagues before, we were a group.

“The fifth time was more special. It’s not that I participated in it more, but I felt like I did.”