MADRID, 6 Jun: Karim Benzema officially bid farewell to Real Madrid on Tuesday, saying he wanted to end his career with the club but life gave him another opportunity.
\nThe French striker did not give any hints about his future, which reportedly remained linked to a lucrative move to play in Saudi Arabia.
\nBenzema played the last of his 648 games with Madrid on Sunday, when he scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on the final day of the Spanish league.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a sad day, because it hurts to be leaving this club,\u201d Benzema said. \u201cI had a dream and I signed for Madrid, and I wanted to finish at Madrid, but life sometimes gives you another opportunity and I\u2019ve taken it along with my family.\u201d
\nBenzema spoke at a farewell ceremony organized by Madrid at the clubhouse and attended by his teamm-ates, former players and club president Florentino P\u00e9rez, who handed the French star a gold insignia.
\n\u201cWhen you arrived you were almost a child and today you leave as one of our greatest legends and one of the greatest players of all time,\u201d P\u00e9rez said. \u201cYour legacy will last forever as a beautiful love story between Benzema and Real Madrid.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure that wherever you are, you will be one of our greatest ambassadors and will continue to represent the values of Real Madrid. Because this is and always will be your home.\u201d
\nThe 35-year-old Benzema had been with Madrid since 2009, playing 14 seasons with the club. He helped Madrid win 25 titles, tied with Marcelo for the most by any player. Among Benzema\u2019s titles were five Champions Leagues, four Spanish leagues, and five Club World Cups.
\nHe was crucial in helping Madrid win last year\u2019s Champions League for a record-extending 14th time.
\n\u201cNo Madrid fan or soccer fan will ever forget those impossible come-backs last year,\u201d P\u00e9rez said.
\nAlso at the ceremony was Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.
\n\u201cHe has always placed a lot of trust in me,\u201d Benzema said. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget that. He\u2019s a top coach and I\u2019ve learned a lot with you. Thank you very much for everything.\u201d
\nBenzema leaves as the club\u2019s second all-time leading scorer with 354.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s time for me to leave today and to have another story, but the most important thing for me is what I\u2019ve won here,\u201d Benzema said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a good journey in my life. I was lucky enough to fulfil my childhood dream.\u201d (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MADRID, 6 Jun: Karim Benzema officially bid farewell to Real Madrid on Tuesday, saying he wanted to end his career with the club but life gave him another opportunity. The French striker did not give any hints about his future, which reportedly remained linked to a lucrative move to play in Saudi Arabia. Benzema played […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-217905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}