Karim Benzema's Biography

Karim Benzema was born on 19 December 1987 in Lyon, the sixth child of nine. He has five sisters and three brothers.

Benzema is of Algerian descent.

He began at Olympique Lyonnais at just 9 years old and moved through the ranks until he had his debut with Lyon's first team against Metz on 15 January 2005.

On 28 March 2007, Benzema scored on his international debut for France in their 1-0 victory over Austria.

Benzema continued to enjoy success with Lyon, who won Ligue 1 in the 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, and 2007–08 seasons whilst Benzema was still on board.

However, on July 1 2009, he was transferred to Real Madrid.

He played for France in the 2014 World Cups as well as the Euros in 2012, however he did not feature in the World Cup squad in 2010 and the squad for the Euros in 2016.

However, he returned to the national team in 2021.

In November 2021, Karim Benzema was found guilty of conspiring to blackmail a fellow French footballer Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape.

Benzema received a one-year suspended jail term and ordered him to pay a €75,000 fine.

In May 2022, Karim Benzema equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most knockout goals in a Champions League campaign after Real Madrid dramatically came from behind to beat Machester City and earn a place in the final against Liverpool.