Karim Benzema is just two goals away from passing Santillana

Almost there. Last week on the Managing Madrid Podcast, Kiyan Sobhani and Om Arvind discussed how Karim Benzema, on 288 goals as a Real madrid player, could surpass Raul Gonzalez’s tally (323) in the next two or three seasons.

Perhaps it’s still too soon to have that discussion, but one thing is for sure: Benzema will almost surely surpass Santillana’s tally of 290. That is imminent. He is also not that far off of Alfredo di Stefano’s 308 goals — a tally that can be hit by next season if the French striker stays healthy.

Those are some crazy numbers, especially when you consider the goal-scoring form that Benzema was in in 2017. He has turned his career around (from a scoring perspective, anyway) ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left the club.

If Benzema scores a brace today against Espanyol, he will not only catch Santillana, but he will have already reached the goal tally he had hit by January of last season. Last season Benzema was on fire, and this season he’s a pure human torch.

With just 12 more goals, Benzema will reach the elusive 300-goal mark, shared only with three other legends: Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, and Di Sefano.