Becoming the team’s key player

Though Benzema had proven himself as a leading man during his latter seasons at Lyon, question marks over whether his presence would be enough to fill the void Ronaldo left with his move to Juventus in 2018 remained. Big-name signings were expected as a result of the Portugal captain’s exit, but, in a transfer window incredibly unlike what Real supporters had become accustomed to, the only marquee arrival was Thibaut Courtois, who was signed from Chelsea for around €35 million (R554 million), while Mariano Diaz was brought back from Lyon, Brahim Diaz returned from a spell at Manchester City, Alvaro

Odriozola was signed from Real Sociedad and a teenage Vinicius Junior was picked up from Flamengo. Names such as Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard were tipped as potential successors to Ronaldo’s throne, only for the club to decide against acting hastily in a bid to appease fans. Though the FIFA Club World Cup was the only trophy Los Blancos added to their collection in the 2018/19 campaign, Benzema provided a preview of what was to come by contributing to 41 goals in 53 matches.

Hazard did eventually arrive at the 13-time European champions ahead of the 2019/20 season, along with more reinforcements in the form of Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo, but Benzema outperformed everyone in Spain, even Lionel Messi at Barcelona, as he played a hand in 38 goals in 48 games in all competitions to reclaim Real’s position as the best team in the country. While his efforts aided in landing Los Blancos a record 34th league title, Benzema had finally received the recognition he deserved for his bordering-on-genius exploits, particularly domestically, when he was awarded LaLiga’s Best Player prize. The following season would see him add a further 30 goals to his tally for Real, though it was a campaign that ended with the club finishing without silverware for the first time in 11 years.