From Ball Boy to Ballon d'Or: Five interesting facts about Karim Benzema

After Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's hegemony over the past decade or so (Croatian Luka Modric did break the pattern by winning it in 2018), Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has put the illustrious duo to shade by winning the prestigious Ballon d’Or at a glittering ceremony held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

As Benzema became the first Frenchman to win the top prize since the great Zinedine Zidane in 1998, here’s a look at some interesting facts about the Real Madrid marksman.

He could have turned out for Algeria

Benzema was born in Lyon, the second largest student city in France, but is of Algerian descent. He was born to Algerian parents Hafid Benzema and Wahida Djebbara and comes from a family of eight (five sisters — Nafissa, Faryd, Lydia, Sofia, Celia and Laeticia) and two brothers (Gressy and Sabri) and he is the third youngest. His two younger brothers Gressy and Sabri plied their trade in the French lower divisions.

A ball boy at Lyon

Benzema began playing at the age of eight and scouts at the Lyon’s youth academy picked him after watching him score against them in an Under-10 game. He used to be a ball boy for the Ligue 1 club’s senior team matches.

A documentary on Benzema

Following his meteoric rise from Lyon to becoming a Real Madrid star, a documentary was made on his life. Le K Benzema, directed by Florent Bodin and Damien Piscarel in 2017, has interviews from his family and friends as well as teammates and also delves into his relationship with Zidane, who went on to coach Real.

In the Guinness Book of World Records

Benzema joined Argentine wizard Lionel Messi in the Guinness Book of World Records last year. That came about after he scored his first goal against Moldovan club Sheriff Tiraspol in last year’s Champions League, which Real went on to win for their 14th European title. The pair jointly hold the record for scoring in the Champions League for 17 consecutive seasons since the 2005-06 season.

Oldest to score a hat-trick in the Champions League

Benzema became the oldest player to score a Champions League hat-trick at age 34 and 108 days, when he scored against English club Chelsea in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash last season. In the process, Benzema went on to break compatriot Olivier Girhoud’s record which was set at 34 years and 82 days.

ALSO READ:

• Real Madrid's Benzema wins Ballon d'Or award for best player

• Unbeaten Madrid defeat Barcelona in Clasico to top La Liga

• Neymar in court: Top 5 footballers, including Cristiano, Messi who faced legal battles 

• Europe