A decade of Karim Benzema - Unforgetable memories of Real Madrid No.9

It has been 10 years since Real Madrid announced that had reached an agreement with Lyon to sign Karim Benzema.

The young striker was an emerging star at the time and became a part of Florentino Perez's new project alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

The Frenchman has seen teammates come and go in the last decade. In fact, only he, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo remain from that summer.

Now Benzema is Real Madrid's sixth highest goalscorer of all time and has contributed massively to the club's successes in Spain and in Europe.

A difficult start

It wasn't easy for Benzema to begin with at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. He arrived as a 21-year-old who hadn't lived away from home before. Manuel Pellegrini preferred to start Gonzalo Higuain up front and Jose Mourinho didn't particularly fancy him either. However, after a meeting between the player and the coach, they soon formed a mutual respect and Benzema started to become prolific in front of goal. His tally of 32 goals under Mourinho during the 2011/12 campaign is his best in a Real Madrid shirt to date.

More secure with Ancelotti

The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti saw Benzema take up a much more prominent role in the Real Madrid attack. He became part of the famous BBC frontline with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, and Ancelotti saw him as the player who would make that forward trident work. He played his part in La Decima before going through some tough personal moments, but his performances in a white shirt didn't drop.

From Benitez to Zidane

Benzema was Rafa Benitez's preferred striker but there was a clear before and after with regard to the Spaniard's sacking. Zinedine Zidane was brought in, a sporting father figure in Benzema's eyes, and it started a revolution. Benzema has spent three very successful years under Zidane, culminating in a goal in the Champions League final against Liverpool in Kiev. He's now the third top scorer in the competition behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Replacing Cristiano

No-shows from Bale and Marco Asensio during the 2018/19 season saw Real Madrid heavily criticised for failing to replace the departed Cristiano. Benzema is one player who can't be blamed for the team's poor recent record in front of goal; nobody got near his total of 30 goals last season and very few reached his standard of displays overall.

New competition

Benzema will be looking forward to working with Eden Hazard but will now have to stave off competition from new arrival Luka Jovic, a 21-year-old who has joined with the hope of kickstarting a new project at the club, much like Benzema did back in 2009. Nevertheless, 10 years after joining Real Madrid, Benzema will start the season as their No.9.