Four La Liga titles, five Champions Leagues and two Copa del Rey successes, life has been pretty kind to Karim Benzema since his 2009 switch from Lyon to Real Madrid.
Add that to Monday night's claiming of the Ballon d'Or for the 21/22 campaign, it's been a euphoric spell for one of the world's most clinical centre forwards, and Manchester United will perhaps rue their efforts to sign him 13 years ago.
Fresh off a superb season with Ligue 1 side back in 08/09, Benzema hit the net a whopping 23 times in 47 outings, as Claude Puel's side finished third in a side containing Hugo Lloris, Mariljem Pjanic and Juninho.
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But it was United who were heavily interested in bringing the forward to the Premier League, as well as European powerhouses of the late 2000s AC Milan, with Madrid then entering the race. Club president Florentino Perez was the biggest factor in the move, as Benzema sealed a €41 million to Spain later that year.
Relaying the very reason he opted to snub Sir Alex Ferguson and United, Benzema explained just how the move came about to Onda Cero : ''I remember I was with my friends. They called me, my family and my agent, to tell me that I had to go home quickly and 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”.''
''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.''
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