Karim Benzema questions Real Madrid’s style while praising Luis Enrique’s PSG

Karim Benzema has been away from Real Madrid since 2023, after joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad before moving to Al-Hilal this year. Even so, he still remains a reference point for the Spanish club, which made his comments while praising Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain especially interesting.

During a live stream on Instagram with rapper Rohff, the striker praised the way this current Paris Saint-Germain team plays. In doing so, he also drew a comparison with Real Madrid in comments reproduced by AS.

Benzema said: “Everyone knows what they need to do and what contribution they must make. A starting player knows his role. A substitute knows his role. At the same time, the sub doesn’t pout. At Real Madrid, everything is more difficult because they don’t play as a team.”

Benzema praises Luis Enrique

The striker has played alongside great teammates and been coached by elite managers such as Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho and Zinedine Zidane at club level. His trophy haul with Real Madrid reflects his huge experience.

That made his comments even more notable, as he gave most of the credit for Europe’s most dominant team to their manager, while also taking time to put fellow Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé above the rest.

Benzema said: “Luis Enrique is the most famous figure at PSG. But it is a team. You can put anyone in attack, they all work together. And the substitutes work just as hard. That is why they are so strong, PSG is not a team of stars, except for Dembele, the Ballon d’Or winner. But forget about that: they press, they defend, they attack, they run.”

Benzema’s view on PSG’s bench players

A major reason behind Paris Saint-Germain’s success has been their ability to rotate players without losing performance. That was the point Benzema emphasized when explaining why they are so difficult to beat.

Benzema said: “When the coach makes a substitution in the 60th or 70th minute, the guys coming onto the pitch contribute even more than those who started the match. And these are supposedly the ‘bench’ players.”