Karim Benzema: ‘Those who criticize Messi don’t know football’

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Messi and Benzema face off in many different Clásicos matches

They say that “the game recognizes the game” and that in the struggles that emerge in the constant battle to achieve and maintain elite status, players find ways to admire each other. The football world being at the top level tends to be a very lonely place and only those who reach that level fully understand the need.

For this reason, the star of PSG Lionel Messi Found an unexpected ally at Real Madrid, striker Karim Benzema, who believes those who criticized the Argentinian over his performances at Paris Saint-Germain know nothing about football.

“It was just an adaptation period because he didn’t score many goals. But look at what he does on the pitch. In any case, you cannot criticize such a player. In fact, anyone who criticizes Messi knows nothing about football. “, French attacker announced dialogue with Telefoot in France.

This comes a few weeks before these two players face each other in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in mid-February.

Despite the obstacles, Messi continues to receive recognition

Messi won his seventh Ballon d’Or, the award many assumed Benzema would win. The Frenchman finished fourth in the race, behind Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho, which was clearly a source of frustration for him.

Winning an award remains Benzema’s goal, although he doesn’t think he can do more than he did in 2021. “Wednesday, third or second are all like 30. The important thing is to win. get it. They told me I didn’t win enough titles, but I couldn’t do more. It’s still a goal and every season, I’m going to try to do better than last season,” he said.

Benzema has scored 303 goals for Real Madrid, just five fewer than Alfredo Di Stéfano, who is third in the Spanish club’s all-time top scorer rankings. Raúl is second with 323 and Cristiano Ronaldo is 450.

The Frenchman is now in a vital position to win his first Pichichi award in Spanish football as he ranks among the top scorers in La Liga. In all competitions, the former Lyon player has scored 29 goals and has 10 assists.

“It’s a source of pride, but I want to move on. When I got there, I saw Di Stefano’s record in the distance. I don’t see these records as a goal, but being around these legends today was special. When we arrived in Madrid, we didn’t tell ourselves we were going to stay 10 or 15 years, we just wanted to win titles,” he concluded.

Messi was persuaded to rest and not play for Argentina

The Argentinian played his first game in 2022 in PSG’s 4-0 win over Reims after being sidelined due to testing positive for COVID-19. Messi was able to play a few minutes in that game and provide an assist in the match, but people still talk about whether he will join Argentina or not.

This was after the initial list was made and the former Barcelona player was left out because he was not available to them. Based on Infobae In Argentina, it was confirmed from sources that Messi had decided to stay in Paris and relax during his international break following a conversation he had with national team coach Lionel Scaloni.

Argentina has already qualified for the World Cup, so it is not necessary for him to compete and put his health in jeopardy, especially after experiencing a difficult COVID wave in the past few weeks.

The goal is to get him ready for March for the final two legs of qualifying and ready for an important stretch where he will be in great demand in the Champions League.

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