By Oyinlola Awonuga (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez believes Karim Benzema is the best player in the world and deserves to be crowned Ballon d’Or winner for the 2019/2020 soccer season after helping his team to a first LaLiga title in three years.
Madrid returned to top-flight action three points behind rivals Barcelona following the coronavirus-enforced suspension, but negotiated their way to 10 straight victories while the Calatans struggled for form and ultimately threw the league away.
Benzema was key to Madrid’s overall success during the course of the season, with his goals resulting in more points won than any other player in La Liga this season (16 points, 21 goals).
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And following his club being crowned champions on Thursday, Perez told El Transistor : “Benzema should win the Ballon d’Or, I have not seen another player have as good a year as him.”
Speaking to newsmen the following morning, he added: “Benzema has been the most criticised player in the world but he’s the best in the world. In terms of how he plays, he’s a centre-forward more like [Zinedine] Zidane than Ronaldo Nazario.
“He has been here since 2009 and that says it all.”
Another player who has been key to Real’s resurgence has been captain Sergio Ramos, who Perez was keen to reaffirm will likely retire at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Sergio Ramos will continue at Real Madrid for as long as he wants and he knows that,” the president said.
“As long as he has the strength – and he still has that strength – I think he will be with us for many years.”
Madrid coach, Zidane, was also singled out for praise, with the former France international having added yet another title to his impressive haul while in the dugout for Europe’s most decorated team.
“I read in a tweet that they sent me that Zidane wins a title every 19 games,” he said. “What else can I say?
“We still have the Champions League to play and we are very excited. We hope that we can continue the momentum we have built during these 10 games and extend it into August. The entire team has managed to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm and hard work.
“Those are our values and that is the message.”
