‘Cristiano Ronaldo has to pray in the morning and say, ‘Thank you, Benzema”: Antonio Cassano claims superstar owes his staggering success at Real Madrid to his former team-mate, who is now flourishing in his absence
- Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema forged a great partnership at Real Madrid
- The French striker has flourished since Ronaldo left the club back in 2018
- There have been early calls for Benzema to be in contention for the Ballon d’Or
- Ronaldo however has endured a frustrating return to Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told that he should ‘pray in the morning’ and ‘thank’ Karim Benzema for playing with him.
The pair forged a legendary partnership at Real Madrid in which they won two LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies between 2009 and 2018.
Benzema rarely got the credit he deserved at the time as Ronaldo stole the headlines as he scored an astonishing 371 times in 355 games to become the club’s all-time record goalscorer.
Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo formed a ruthless partnership at Real Madrid
Benzema didn’t get the credit he deserved as Ronaldo stole all the headlines at Madrid
The Frenchman meanwhile scored 155 goals at Real Madrid until Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, also providing the Portuguese superstar a staggering 47 assists during their time together.
Former Italy international Antonio Cassano, who spent 18 months at the Santiago Bernabeu, has claimed Ronaldo owes his success at Madrid to Benzema.
He told Bobo TV, via Area Napoli: ‘In football, there are not only titles and goals, (Zinedine) Zidane scored few goals, but he is one of the greatest in history, (Juan Roman) Riquelme too.
‘Goals are useful, titles are useful, but they are not the fundamental things.
Benzema though has flourished since Ronaldo left and is enjoying the season of his life
Former Italy international Antonio Cassana says Ronaldo should ‘pray’ and ‘thank’ Benzema
‘Cristiano Ronaldo has to pray in the morning and say, ‘Thank you, Benzema, that you played with me’. Benzema, this year and last year, has scored 50 goals and assists this year and last year over 30 goals.
‘Ronaldo scores and will always score, but he’s a different player; Benzema is a goalscoring centre forward. But he’s also Zidane, he’s a nine, ten and a nine and a half.’
Benzema has flourished since Ronaldo left for Juventus back in 2018, scoring 124 times in 183 matches.
That superior to Ronaldo who has netted 119 times during his time with Juventus and second stint at Manchester United.
Benzema continues to get better with age and the 34-year-old is having the season of his life, scoring 37 goals in as many games.
He has been in red-hot form, scoring a hat-trick to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League, and repeating the feat in their 3-1 first-leg victory over Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo has scored fewer goals than Benzema since he left Madrid and he is also enduring a frustrating season at Manchester United despite netting on 18 occasions this campaign
Speaking after his Man of the Match display against Chelsea, BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand said: ‘Karim Benzema, if they’re not engraving his name on the Ballon d’Or I’ll be surprised.
‘He’s been magic. In the last tie, he was magnificent and grabbed a hat-trick. Tonight he’s done the same and got another hat-trick.’
While Benzema could win the LaLiga title and Champions League with Real Madrid, Ronaldo will go trophyless at Manchester United this season.
After their 1-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday, United are six points off fourth-placed Tottenham and are facing a season with no Champions League football.
He has endured a frustrating season in his return to Manchester United, though he has scored 18 goals in all competitions.
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