Karim Benzema has become the underappreciated talisman Real Madrid need

As Real Madrid get set to take on Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season, Karim Benzema has become a focal point for Los Blancos.

There was a point, not so long ago, when Karim Benzema held down a place in the Real Madrid starting lineup purely on the basis of his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Frenchman scored just five times in 32 La Liga appearances in Ronaldo’s final season at the Santiago Bernabeu, leading to speculation that he would be replaced by someone like Robert Lewandowski. Alvaro Morata was seen by many as a better option, but Benzema did things other than score that helped in getting the best out of Ronaldo and so he played.

It’s safe to say Benzema has changed his game since then. In fact, the French forward has scored more goals for Real Madrid over the past two seasons than Ronaldo has for Juventus. He has become the face of the Spanish club, the player around which Zinedine Zidane has built his team. It’s little wonder then that Real Madrid want to tie Benzema to a new long-term deal, quite the show of faith in a player who turns 32 this week.

Conventional wisdom says Benzema should be coming into the twilight of his career, that his best days should be behind him, but he is only getting better and better with age. Indeed, the Frenchman has never been a more influential player than he is now. If Real Madrid are to win their first La Liga title in three years this season it’ll be in no small part down to the work done by their main man.

And yet the 32-year-old doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Despite being up there with the likes of Lewandowski and Lionel Messi as one of Europe’s top scorers this season, Benzema was nowhere to be seen in this year’s Ballon d’Or voting. When French newspaper L’Equipe published a list of the 15 best strikers earlier this year the player himself posted “Hey L’Equipe, my friends. Am I maybe 16th?” after being omitted from it entirely.

There’s a case to be made that Benzema is in fact the most underrated, undervalued player at the elite level of the sport right now. Zidane knows what he brings, though, as do the notoriously tough-to-please Santiago Bernabeu faithful, who after years of whistling and targeting the French forward now see him as something of a spiritual leader.

Real Madrid will need leaders as they face Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season this week. The absence of Eden Hazard, who is expected to miss the trip to the Camp Nou with an ankle injury, will make things tougher for Benzema. There were signs of a burgeoning relationship between the Belgian and the Frenchman. It’s a partnership that could, in theory, carry Real Madrid through the whole season, if only Hazard could stay fit.

Rodrygo has stepped into the void in recent weeks, but the teenage Brazilian cannot be expected to perform consistently over the full campaign. Fellow Brazilian Vinicius Junior has recently rediscovered the spark that made him the breakout teenage star last season, but his frequent lack of final product remains his biggest weakness. Gareth Bale is also expected to miss next week’s Clasico.

Benzema tends to find a way to affect games, though. What is perhaps most impressive about his statistics over the past two seasons is that they have been achieved through well-rounded performances. While Ronaldo has tuned himself into the most effective goalscorer possible, Benzema contributes in many other ways. He’s not just a penalty box operator.

Given his age, Benzema can’t be put forward as the future of Real Madrid at a time when the club is looking to move into a new age, but this is a player at the peak of his powers. At a time of fragile transition at the Santiago Bernabeu, Benzema has been the epitome of strength. He is setting a precedent for those around him, as well as scoring a truck load of goals.