Benzema has retirement plans: "I want to be close to Florentino"
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 03.03.25. | 15:07
The veteran striker, currently plying trade in Saudi Arabia, still has a soft spot for the Real Madrid president
Karim Benzema opened up about his difficult beginnings at Real Madrid but also spoke about Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior and revealed his retirement plans.
Talking to the "Los Amigos de Edu" programme, Mbappe admitted he would like to work with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. But that's not all, so let's see what Benzema said.
About Florentino:
"The other day, I was with Florentino in Madrid. When he signed me, I told my father that as long as he was at Real Madrid, I would be there. He was the first person I called when I decided I was leaving. He didn't quite understand... I told him that the youngsters, Vinicius and Rodrygo, were ready. When I retire, I want to be close to football. Coach? I don't know, it seems more complicated than being a player. I want to be close to Florentino when I retire."
About Saudi Arabia:
"I feel good here, my life is like in Madrid. I get up, train at home in the gym, and in the afternoon, train with the team. At night, sometimes I go out to dinner or to the beach. Here, you can't walk down the street either; people are crazy about football."
About his farewell to Madrid:
"I did everything. I started as a child and ended as a man. I wanted to leave on a high, with all the titles and the Ballon d'Or. Nobody knows how I would have performed the following year. Real Madrid is the best club in the world and I didn't want to go to another team that could face Madrid."
About difficult start at Santiago Bernabeu:
"The start was very complicated. When I arrived, I didn't know what Real Madrid was, but I never had any doubts that I would succeed. When you're young, it's hard to accept criticism. People don't understand that I'm young, that I don't understand the language, that I'm far from my family... At Madrid, you quickly learn to be mentally strong. Now, I find criticism funny."
Real Madrid were 0-2 down against Liverpool at Anfield and this is how Karim Benzema reminded the whole team that we are Real Madrid. Two years since this iconic 5-2 comeback, where Real Madrid players destroyed Liverpool in their own backyard. https://t.co/WlDsmZdh9r pic.twitter.com/lig37or8EV
— ;) (@rzzee3) February 22, 2025
About Vini and the Ballon d'Or:
"I don't want to talk about France Football... Vinicius was decisive in every game in a year in which he won the Champions League and there is no one else who deserved it more than him. I sit down to watch football, and I see that he does things that only the best players do. I sent him a message when he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, I was sad."
About Mbappe:
"His situation is different to what happened to me. I arrived very young at 21 and he arrived at 25. He knows that at Madrid, if you fail, they kill you because they have brought you only to score goals. The pressure is outrageous and he knows it."
