World NewsBenzema Unveiled By Madrid |
Karim Benzema revealed his delight at following in the footsteps of two of his heroes Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo after completing his move to Real Madrid.
Having already passed his medical and signed a six-year contract with the Primera Division outfit earlier in the day, Benzema was presented as a Madrid player in front of an estimated 20,000 fans this evening at the Bernabeu.
Benzema's presentation came exactly eight years to the day since his fellow Frenchman Zidane was unveiled as a Madrid player following his then world-record move from Juventus, and the 21-year-old forward spoke of his pride after completing his own switch to the Spanish giants.
"I'm very happy to be able to play here at the best club in world. I'm very happy to play at the same club as my idols, Zidane and Ronaldo," said Benzema, who admits he rates Brazilian forward Ronaldo higher than anyone.
"I consider Ronaldo the best player in the world, he is an inspiration for me.
"I don't know if some day I will get to his level, but I try to imitate what he does on the pitch."
Like Ronaldo, Zidane established himself as a Real Madrid legend during his time at the club before retiring from the game in 2006.
The former FIFA World Player of the Year is now back at Madrid as an advisor to president Florentino Perez, but Benzema revealed it was not Zidane who played the biggest role in his "dream" move to Madrid, but rather Perez.
"Zidane did not play a key role in the signing, the most important person was Florentino Perez," said Benzema, who had been linked to the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan before opting for Madrid.
"Florentino spoke to me about the team and the project that he wanted to create. I wanted to play at Real Madrid anyway so he didn't have to convince me of hardly anything.
"Real Madrid are an excellent club. Since I was 14 or 15 my dream was to play at Real Madrid.
"The emotions that I had when I entered the dressing room were very strong and this is why I kissed the Madrid badge so many times (during his presentation)," he added.
The France international will cost Madrid an initial 35 million euros, rising to 41 million dependent on performances, and will be the fourth new arrival to be unveiled by the Spanish giants since Perez returned to the presidency at the start of June.
Kaka was the first to be presented last Tuesday following his move from AC Milan, then came former Valencia defender Raul Albiol last Thursday, before world-record signing Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage on Monday evening in front of an estimated 90,000 fans at the Bernabeu.
With just those four signings alone Madrid are close to breaking the
£200million barrier this summer, and more big-name arrivals are believed to be in the pipeline as Perez fulfils his election promise of a "spectacular sporting project".
Benzema, who has not yet been given a shirt number at his new club, was a prolific scorer with Lyon and he is confident he can be a regular marksman at Madrid as well - if he can secure himself a place in what is promising to be a star-studded line-up.
"I don't want to promise a set number of goals, although I hope to score a lot. With players like Kaka (Cristiano) Ronaldo and Raul it will be very easy to get goals," said Benzema, who scored 54 competitive goals in the last two season at Lyon.
"I'm aware that there is great competition at the club and maybe I cannot always play, but I've come here to fight, so it's not going to be a problem."
Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association
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