Karim Benzema: Real Madrid career in numbers

Karim Benzema has announced he will leave Real Madrid

At the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, Real Madrid's top striker and skipper Karim Benzema will leave Los Blancos after a 14-year at the club.

At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday night against Athletic Bilbao, Benzema, 35, is anticipated to play his farewell game for Madrid.

The verbal arrangement between Madrid and Benzema to keep him at the club through 2024 ultimately fell through, but the former Lyon striker has decided to leave Spain's Capital. He will reportedly now sign with a team headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

There are suggestions that Benzema will sign an expensive three-year contract with Al Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League, paying him close to €100 million annually. Before making a choice, he supposedly spoke with his old teammate Cristian Ronaldo.

At the age of 35, Benzema declared his retirement from international play shortly after the FIFA World Cup, in which he was unable to play due to an injury that he was unable to recover from in time. In the end, Argentina defeated France in the championship game on penalty kicks.

In 23 LaLiga outings during the 2022–23 season, Benzema recorded 18 goals and three assists as Madrid ended second in the league to Barcelona. Before Madrid lost to Manchester City in the semifinals, he also scored four goals in ten Champions League games.

And how, having won five Champions League titles, he will cap off his colourful Real Madrid career. Even though many would say that he wasn't a top-tier striker, the Frenchman had some outstanding runs at Real Madrid, and once Cristiano Ronaldo left, he did a tremendous job of carrying the team's goal-scoring load.

And now he could be playing for Suadi alongside his former teammate from Madrid, where he might play for a few more seasons before proclaiming his retirement from football.

Now, though, let's review Benzema's Real Madrid career:

Real Madrid

Games: 647

Assists: 165

Goals: 353

Trophies

• LaLiga: 2011–12, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22
• Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14, 2022–23
• Supercopa de España: 2012, 2017, 2021–22
• UEFA Champions League: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22
• UEFA Super Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022