When Karim Benzema joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad this year on a lucrative deal, a comfortable pre-retirement stint seemed assured for the Ballon d'Or winner.

This summer's transfer fees alone top $830 million, without counting the players' eye-watering wages, or Ronaldo's January signing in a deal which is said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years

Karim Benzema has responded to Didier Deschamps' claim that the striker told him "he wouldn't have been ready" to play at the World Cup because of an injury by implying the France coach was a "liar".

The ceremony takes place in Paris, and Messi appears as the favourite to add another individual gong to his collection after leading Argentina to glory over Mbappe's France in that epic encounter in Qatar.

Reports in Spain suggest that France striker Karim Benzema could be in line for a shock return to Qatar to play in the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday night.

France's hopes of successfully defending the World Cup were dealt a huge blow late on Saturday as Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out of the tournament in Qatar with an injured left thigh.

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has been named the Champions League Player of the Season after a stellar 2021-22 campaign where he finished as top scorer, UEFA said on Tuesday.

Real Madrid secured a 35th La Liga title on Saturday with four games to spare after a 4-0 home win over Espanyol fuelled by two goals from Rodrygo.

Gary Neville's Valencia battled to a dramatic La Liga draw with Real Madrid, who ended up with 10 men.

Cristiano Ronaldo recovered from a missed penalty to score twice as Real Madrid beat luckless Real Sociedad 3-1 on Wednesday, easing the pressure on coach Rafael Benitez.