Karim Benzema remains eager to see Kylian Mbappe join him at Real Madrid, with the Blancos’ No.9 telling a fellow Frenchman that they could “score twice as many goals, maybe even triple” if paired together at club level.
The pair have been working alongside one another on the international stage and are counting down the days to the defence of their World Cup crown in Qatar later this year.
Mbappe will have made a big decision on his domestic future by then, as he runs a contract at Paris Saint-Germain down towards free agency, and Benzema is hoping to see the exciting 23-year-old complete a switch to Santiago Bernabeu that has been speculated on for several years.
What has been said?
Benzema, who has hit 34 goals for Real across all competitions this season, has told L’Equipe when asked if he wants Mbappe to make a move to Madrid: “Yes, I say it often. I like to play with him in the national team and I would like to play with him at club level.
“I think we would score twice as many goals. Or maybe even triple!
“With Mbappe I understand myself well in the national team because we know what the other is going to do. For example, we both like to go to the left but we will never both be there at the same time.”
The bigger picture
Benzema got the better of Mbappe in their most recent meeting at club level, with the Real frontman netting a stunning hat-trick in the second leg of a Champions League last-16 encounter that dashed the European dreams of a star-studded PSG side.
He said of those exploits: “I wished him [Mbappe] a good game.
“Personally, I didn’t have any special pressure on that match. I just wanted my team to win, because I was disappointed with the first leg.
“I got there (with a hamstring injury), I hadn’t played for a month. And we had been bad, we had been dominated the whole game, we hadn’t even attacked... That was when I knew it was going to be something different in the second leg.”
What comes next for Real?
Having sent PSG packing, Real Madrid are now readying themselves for a quarter-final clash with current holders of the Champions League crown, Chelsea.
The Blues edged out the Blancos in the semi-finals last season, but Benzema believes anything is possible this time around.
He added: “There is no favourite.
“Look at PSG-Real: we were favourites in the first leg, maybe. And in the second leg, PSG had become ultra-favourites. So that doesn’t mean anything. Chelsea are a very good team, we will go there to look for a good result.”
Real are due at Stamford Bridge for the first leg of a heavyweight continental showdown on Wednesday.
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