Under-fire Benzema has better goalscoring rate than Raul
The Frenchman boasts a better goals-per-game ratio than Raul, a Real Madrid legend, despite receiving some very heavy criticism for his shortcomings in front of goal recently.
Karim Benzema has scored 182 goals in his nine seasons as a Real Madrid player and in 377 appearances in total. This gives him an average of 0.48 goals per game.
On the other hand, the former captain of Los Blancos scored 323 in 741 matches, giving him an average of 0.44 matches per match in his 16 years in the Spanish capital.
Raul won 16 titles as a 'madridista': six La Ligas, three Champions Leagues, four Spanish Super Cups, one European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. All he was missing was a Copa de Rey.
Benzema has so far won 14 titles: two La Ligas, three Champions Leagues, two Copa del Reys, two Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
The former Spain international was the La Liga top scorer on two occasions (1998-99 and 2000-01) and was the Champions League top scorer twice, drawing with Rivaldo and Jardel in 1999-2000 and winning outright in 2000-01.
Benzema, defended fervently by Zidane as a provider of assists who benefits his team-mates greatly, has been heavily criticized for his goalscoring return as a Madrid 'number 9', in comparison to other players who have played in the same position.
However, the numbers don't lie and they show that it's not just Raul that the French striker has surpassed. Benzema also has a better goals-to-game ratio than other Real Madrid icons like Gento, Butragueño, Santillana, Amancio, Amaro and 'Juanito'.
The former Lyon striker has 51 goals in 97 Champions League games, tied with his compatriot Thierry Henry (who did it in 115 games) as France's highest goalscorer in the competition.
The only players above Benzema in the list of the all-time top scorers of the historic competition are Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Raul, Van Nistelrooy and Shevchenko, although the Frenchman has a better goalscoring rate (0.52) than Raul (0.49) and Shevchenko (0.51).
Real Madrid's current 'number 9' is the seventh highest goalscorer in the club's illustrious history, with 182 official goals, equalling the legend Gento. Even then, the current Honorary President of Los Blancos managed that total in 601 matches, 224 more than the Frenchman (377).
Despite this, 2017 has been a disastrous year for Benzema in terms of goals. In his 40 appearances for the European champions, he has scored just 11 goals (eight in La liga, one in the Champions League, one in the Copa del Rey and one in the Spanish Super Cup).