Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed! Karim Benzema leaves ex-Real Madrid team-mate and Barcelona legend out of his dream XI

The former France international striker has graced the same pitch as some of the very best in the business over the course of his long and distinguished career. He is now playing in the Saudi Pro League – having followed ex-Real team-mate Ronaldo to the Middle East – and is still going strong with Al-Ittihad at 35 years of age.

Benzema is a Ballon d’Or winner, having landed that prestigious prize in 2022, but has overlooked two iconic figures with 13 Golden Balls between them when piecing together a dream side that is made up of former colleagues and legendary figures.

Benzema has put past rivalries to one side when naming a number of Barcelona legends in his perfect XI, while it comes as no surprise to find that fellow Frenchmen figure prominently among those to have made the cut. Benzema’s team, which he picked when speaking with Al-Ittihad’s social media channels, is: Manuel Neuer; Dani Alves, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Claude Makelele, Paul Pogba, Zinedine Zidane; Ronaldinho, Ronaldo (R9), Karim Benzema.

Benzema joined Real in 2009 - the same summer Ronaldo made his way to Santiago Bernabeu. They won four Champions League crowns alongside one another – with CR7 becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer – and were able to get the better of Messi and Barcelona on several occasions. Two all-time greats have, however, been surprisingly overlooked by another forward who prides himself on being one of the most prolific to have ever played the game.