Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Valencia on Thursday night proved to be a special game for Karim Benzema. The French striker did not only help his team to remain in the La Liga title hunt with two goals, but also managed to move in top five of Real’s all-time goalscorers list.
Benzema now has 243 goals from 503 games, which was enough to surpass legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas (242), who previously held the No.5 position.
“I didn’t imagine anything like this, I’m very happy. I’ve been working for a long time now, and I always put it in to keep improving,” said Benzema in a chat with the club’s website after the game. “I hope I can keep going. I’m very happy to be playing for this club.”
With these two goals, Benzema got to 16 in La Liga and 21 in all competitions this season. He also became just the fourth Real’s player to have 20+ goals in eight or more seasons.
While there is no doubt that the 32-year-old Benzema can play on a high level for several more years, it will be hard to see him topping the all-time goalscorers list. Current No.1 is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has impressive 450 goals in just 438 games in Real. He is followed by Raúl with 323 and Alfredo Di Stéfano with 308.
