Will Benzema really leave Real Madrid for Lyon?
Martin Macdonald
- 29 Jan 2022 19:39 GMT
- 3 min read
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is probably enjoying the best period of his career at Santiago Bernabeu.
The Frenchman has been in sensational form for Madrid over the last two seasons and scored 30 goals in all competitions last campaign.
He is on course to match or better than tally in 2021/22, as he has scored 24 goals and recorded eight assists in 28 starts.
While he previously played second fiddle to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, he has flourished since the departure of the Portuguese superstar.
Despite his performances, there are slight doubts over his future at the club, mainly due to the speculation surrounding Madrid's interest in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
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Mbappe will likely sign for Real Madrid as a free agent in July, while Haaland has also been on the club's radar for some time.
As Benzema is 34, he would undoubtedly move down the pecking order in the Spanish capital should that duo arrive.
He has long been expected to return at Lyon at some point, and a transfer could come as early as this summer, according to journalist Fabio Gratto.
Gratto states that Lyon are looking into how they could potentially bring Benzema back in 2022.
The Frenchman is a product of the Lyon youth system and represented the club at senior level between 2004 and 2009.
Do Lyon want Benzema back?
Last year, Benzema's former agent Karim Djaziri revealed that he expects the player to return to Lyon at some point.
“Will Karim Benzema return to Lyon? Yes, I think it’ll happen,” Djaziri told Inside Gones. “He speaks to me regularly and he watches all the matches. And he’s not yet visited the Groupama Stadium.
“In his mind, it’s something that he really wants. Lyon is in his heart.”
Djaziri did admit, however, that leaving Real Madrid would be a wretch.
“There is everything at Lyon for Karim. He doesn’t want to come back to Lyon and not have his legs. He is torn between leaving the biggest club in the world and returning to Lyon,” Djaziri said.
“It’s a question of timing.
"In his dreams, he wants to come back to Lyon and do great things. Being the captain with the young players at his side, that could be magic.”
