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“I had not prepared myself mentally for what Real Madrid meant: the club, the people, the pressure, the city,” Benzema admits in an interview with Jorge Valdano.
On Wednesday The Spanish television channel Vamos will broadcast Universo Valdano: Benzema, in which the former player, coach and general manager of Madrid Jorge Valdano speaks exclusively with Karim Benzema.
During the extensive interview, the French forward, who started his twelfth campaign at the Bernabéu this season, talks about his arrival in Madrid and those difficult first months, his first meeting with Florentino Pérez, and how it felt to arrive in a changing room full of stars.
Benzema’s early isolation at Real Madrid
In conversation at Real Madrid’s training ground in Valdebebas, Benzema recalled his initial feelings of isolation when he came to the club from Lyon for € 35 million in 2009.
“I had not prepared myself mentally for what Real Madrid meant: the club, the people, the pressure, the city.” he tells Valdano.
“I was alone, I didn’t speak Spanish. It was difficult, if you don’t feel well off the pitch, things get very difficult. That happened to me the first year.”
Benzema’s first meeting with Pérez
Florentino Pérez was responsible for bringing him to the Bernabéu during his first term as president and he has always been Benzema’s greatest defender.
In the interview with Valdano, the Lyon forward also recounted his first meeting with Pérez, who surprisingly had shown up at his family’s home in the Bron district of Lyon to try to sign him.
“My friends, my family and my agents told me: ‘You have to go home.’ remember.
“I told them I couldn’t but they insisted: ‘You have to come, here is Florentino Pérez.’ I opened the door and saw it. I remember what he asked me: ‘Do I have your word? … and I said ‘Yes, of course.’
Benzema on the role of Real Madrid
Benzema also gave insight into his own understanding of the role of a forward in his talk with Valdano.
“The striker has to know how to do many things, not only score goals. I can score a goal, but if I don’t touch the ball in 90 minutes, that’s a problem,” says the Frenchman. who is currently Madrid’s fifth top scorer of all time with 250 goals.
The Universo Valdano program with Karim Benzema will be broadcast on Wednesday, October 7 at 10:30 p.m. on #Vamos de Movistar Plus.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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