Benzema's rise to glory at Madrid

Saudi state television channel 'Al-Ekhbariya' claims the 35-year-old had signed with Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad, to feature against former Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo next season.
According to Al-Ekhbariya, the president of Saudi champions Al-Ittihad and his deputy were in the Spanish capital "to officially sign" Benzema in a "record transfer with Real Madrid".
Benzema joined Madrid in 2009 from Ligue 1 side and hometown outfit Lyon. He established himself as a key player alongside Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in the vaunted "BBC" attacking trident, before developing into the team's leader when the Portugal striker left in 2018.
He is Real Madrid's second top scorer of all-time, with 353 goals for Spaniard, behind only Ronaldo on 450. Benzema's final appearance for them could be later on Sunday when they host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.
Madrid confirmed on Saturday that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz are all leaving this summer too, allowing for plenty of space for new acquisitions in attack. Ancelotti avoided talking on Saturday about Madrid's alleged interest in England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
"I'm not going to talk about the future of the squad that is in place. Kane is a great player, he is a Tottenham player, we have to respect the player and Tottenham," said Ancelotti.
Benzema battled with Gonzalo Higuain for a regular starting spot in his early days at Madrid, and was once derided by then-coach Jose Mourinho for being a "cat" instead of the "hunting dog" he wanted.
While playing alongside Ronaldo, Benzema took the role of supplier and worked hard to provide for his teammate. The forward greatly increased his goal output after Ronaldo left, playing centrally, and scored 44 in 46 games last season, a performance that earned him the 2022 Ballon d'Or.
Benzema may cherish last season's Champions League triumph the most of all his successes because he played a crucial role in winning it. The forward scored a stunning hat-trick to help Madrid come from behind against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and progress.
The Frenchman netted another treble at Stamford Bridge in the quarter-finals against Chelsea and scored the extra-time goal in the second leg which sent his team into the semi-finals.
The forward also scored three goals over two games against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to help Madrid reach the final, which they won against Liverpool in Paris - his first Champions League triumph as the team's figurehead.