Benzema hails Mbappe connection amid Real Madrid rumours

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 30 Jan 2022 13:09 GMT
• 3 min read

Karim Benzema has hinted at his strong desire for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to join him at Real Madrid in the summer.

The pair have linked impressively for the France national side since Benzema was recalled to Les Bleus prior to Euro 2020 following a period of exile.

And it is expected that they will become club-mates in the summer, when Mbappe’s contract with Paris Saint-Germain is set to expire, at which point he will become a free agent.

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The prospect of Benzema and Mbappe linking up for Real Madrid is a mouth-watering one for fans of the club – but also, apparently, for the former Lyon striker.

“With Kylian, I’m not going to say that we’ve got the same game because I don’t think we do. But we have a football that works well in parallel, we play quickly, one or two touches,” Benzema explained in a long interview with TF1 programme ‘Telefoot’.

“There are moments when he has to cross and he crosses, but when he has to shoot, he shoots. It’s because of this that he’s one of the best players in the world today.”

Benzema’s secret to success

Equally, though, Benzema has maintained and even enhanced his reputation as being one of the finest players in the game, having become Real Madrid’s key forward since the 2019 sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.

In 2021/22, for example, Benzema has 24 goals in 28 matches and shows no sign of slowing down.

Asked about his secret to success, he replied: “The more I respect football, the more goals I’m going to score, quite simply. If you’re only thinking of scoring, you’re going to come up against two very, very good defenders and they’ll block you. It’s finished because if you don’t think of playing football, if you don’t know how to play with one touch or if you don’t know how to move.”

Real Madrid are back in action on Thursday, when they face Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey.