Farewell to Karim Benzema

Second ball, Karim Benzema! Go Karim! Go Karim! Break it, Karim Benzema! Go Karim! Go Rodrigo! Go Rodrigo! Good morning everyone. Greicy, brother of Karim, board of directors of Real Madrid, general director of Real Madrid, coach, Carlo Ancelotti, his teammates, Nacho, Luka Modric, Lucas Vázquez, Courtois, ambassadors of Real Madrid, Raúl, Roberto Carlos and Arbeloa, patrons of the Real Madrid Foundation, members of Real Madrid, Today is a very difficult day for me. It is a day in which I remember memories and emotions experienced in the last 14 years. And it is also a day of feelings and emotions for all Madridistas. 14 years ago began a stage of great enthusiasm throughout Madridism, which has become one of the most spectacular of our 121 years of history. And I want to have a very special memory also for Jean-Michel Hollande, then president of the Olympique de Lyon, because he facilitated the arrival of Karim Benzema to Real Madrid. Thank you very much, Jean-Michel. Since the announcement of Karim Benzema's farewell last Sunday, I have seen a huge feeling of sadness, not only among Madridistas, but also among all those fans of football who have been moved during all these years with the magic of a unique player like Karim. Dear Karim, 14 years ago you arrived at Real Madrid and you have become one of the best players of all time. To all those who have felt and feel that sadness because you are leaving Real Madrid, I want to tell them that this is the moment to also remember the enormous fortune we have had enjoying your football, during all these 14 years. Because we have seen you do incredible things with our shield and with our shirt and everywhere in the world. And that is something that we will never forget any Madridista. Dear Karim, dear captain, I want you to know that we are all very proud of you. You became very young at Real Madrid and here you have become one of the great symbols of the history of our club and one of our greatest legends. You have been part of a team that is already legendary and in this team you have been a spectacular player. With your way of understanding football, with your goals, with your impossible plays that only seemed to be in the heads of those children who dream of playing someday in Real Madrid. You have managed to excite all of us who love football. You have been and you are a different footballer and it is true that some took a long time to understand you. And not only have you done it with your talent, with your magic, with your desire to find the beauty of football at every moment, you have also achieved it by defending the values of Real Madrid that you carry forever in your heart. Therefore, you have been a reference of companionship, of humility, of respect, of solidarity, of work, of overcoming and of leadership. And today you leave Real Madrid with the affection of everyone, players, coaches and technicians and of course, of a fan that adores you and that will always accompany you wherever you are. Throughout this time you have been growing as a footballer while you were also training as a person. Here you have overcome many adversities and many obstacles. You have learned to withstand the pressure and the weight that involves being part of the largest club in the world. And you have also achieved it with the help of your family. Today I want to have a special mention for your parents who have surely played an essential role so that you are happy and succeed as you have done in Real Madrid. I want them to have that recognition along with your brothers and all the people and loved ones who have been close to you on this long journey. Dear Karim, today is also a day to be happy and feel proud and satisfied for everything you have achieved. Playing in the best club in the world and making history as one of its great myths is something that only some chosen ones can achieve. And you are one of them and a very special one. Here you have everything you have achieved in the club of your life and above all, how you have achieved it, earning the respect and affection of everyone. Every time you remember your journey with us, these memories and these 25 titles will accompany you forever. No one has won more titles than you in Real Madrid. Here are the 5 European Cups, 5 Club World Cups, 4 European Super Cups, 4 Leagues, 3 Copas del Rey and 4 Super Cups of Spain. You have achieved all this with a spectacular football like the one you gave us last season, the season of the 14th. A year that will remain forever in the memory of millions and millions of football fans around the world. You led this team and you were the best example of our main sign of identity. When it seemed impossible, when no one believed in us, there you were with your teammates to show again that Real Madrid never gives up and that with this shield you fight until the last second in each game. No Madrid fan or football fan will be able to forget those impossible comebacks of last year. That is why today you are the current Ballon d'Or, because you were the top scorer of that Champions League with your 15 goals and because with your leadership, your attitude and your football we managed to achieve a unique gesture in history and that will be remembered forever. Today you put an end to your time in Real Madrid with this Ballon d'Or, being the player of the year of UEFA, in addition to being included in the FIFA World Cup 11 and winning the Pichichi 2022 trophy. Dear friends, today one more player is leaving us. Today one of the most incredible footballers in our history says goodbye to us. Karim Benzema is the fifth player who has more times worn our shirt with 648 games. He is the second scorer in the history of Real Madrid with 354 goals. He is also the second scorer in the history of Real Madrid both in the League and in the European Cup. He is also the fourth scorer in the Champions League in the history of this competition and the fourth scorer in the history of LaLiga. An impressive trajectory. Karim, you have been an example of behavior and professionalism in our club. An example for children who someday dream of being like you. Whether or not they play football. As president, I have to tell you that in all these years I would not know how to put a but in your behavior. And you already know that it is not easy to achieve. You have always represented the values of Real Madrid. And today, after everything you have done in this club for 14 years, I want to tell you that you have earned the right to decide your destiny. A future that only belongs to you. And we must accept it and respect it. Dear Karim, dear captain, thank you for everything you have given us, for enlarging the history of this club, which is the most beloved and admired in the world, and for everything you have meant for Madrid. You were almost a child and today you have become one of our great myths, one of the best players of all times. Your legend will last forever as a beautiful love story between Benzema and Real Madrid. I am sure that wherever you are, you will be one of our greatest ambassadors and you will continue to represent the values of Real Madrid, because this is and will always be your home. Thank you, Karim, for this love story of football that we have lived together and that is undoubtedly eternal. Thank you very much. One of our greatest legends, Karim Benzema, has the floor. Hello everyone. Well, it is difficult to speak with many emotions, but I wanted to say thank you very much to Real Madrid, thank you very much to my teammates. It was a good path in my life. I was lucky to realize my childhood dream thanks to Prezi, who for a long time, as I said before, I was only 21 years old. I went to my house with my parents and when I saw you, I said, he is the man who brought Zizou, Ronaldo and now he loves me in his team. So thank you very much for that. I will never forget Real Madrid, because it is impossible, because it is the best club in the world, in history. There is no more, but I think today is the time to leave and see another story. But the most important thing for me is that I have done what I have won here in Madrid, as I said before, like a child, and that is the most important thing. And as I said on the first day I was here, 1, 2, 3, Real Madrid. I will say it again, 1, 2, 3, Real Madrid. I would also like to thank the coach, who has always given me a lot of confidence from the beginning and I will never forget that, because he is a top coach and I have learned a lot from you. So thank you very much for everything and I do not have many words for you because it is a little sad day because I am going to leave this club and it hurts me because, as I said before, I had a dream in my head, signing for Madrid and I wanted to finish in Madrid. But life, sometimes there is another opportunity and I have done it with my whole family, but Madrid will always be like my family and I will always admire the games of Madrid. And thanks also to the fans who push me to play very good games, to have strength, mentality and to be today as I am. So, thank you all, really. Next, President Florentino Pérez gives Karim Benzema the gold and shining badge of Real Madrid. President Benzema, Ancelotti and the words of Karim Benzema himself, who until a few hours ago has been his coach. Well, let's start analyzing the words of the President and Benzema. Evidently, both are sufficiently excited. The President has started saying that it is a difficult day for him, with 14 years, 14 seasons, and how the signing of Benzema failed. The President remembering even Karim himself, how he went to look for his home, with his parents, to sign him, to bring him to the Real Madrid project, to become what he has been, the best footballer in the world, the current Ballon d'Or, and above all, a reference of Madridism, reference of work, reference of improvement, of leadership, of humility, what it means to be a Real Madrid player. An example for the children, an example of improvement, and a legend that will live in the memory of all Madridistas. I think that the speech very much felt by the President, I think it is summarized in three words. Sadness for the day, it is the day that a legend like Karim Benzema is leaving. Pride for having had this player who has been a capital in this new golden age that Real Madrid has lived since the arrival of Juan Quintana Pérez, the arrival of Karim with other teammates, the protagonism of Karim in this wonderful golden age and eternity. Quintana Pérez has it very clear that the legacy of Karim Benzema will be eternal. Everyone will remember, for the centuries of the centuries, how Karim Benzema played, the, in quotation marks, barbarities that he did on the pitch. And I also liked, not to claim the first Benzemistas, that it is a legend, a legend,