In less than a month, Real fans have experienced all sorts of -extreme- emotions. From the ecstasy and delirium of grandiose excitement over Paris and qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League to utter disappointment at Barcelona’s home Clasico crash.

And from the Tatars because of the heavy and indigestible four from the Catalans, start again in seventh heaven with a triumph in London over European champions Chelsea to pave the way for the “4” and dream of the 14th cup with great ears.

But what is the fact that unites these three games above like a thin white thread and that has played a catalytic role in their final results? But of course the presence or not Karim Benzema on the field.

The emblematic leader of the meringue attack took his side by the hand against Paris when all seemed lost after Ebape’s goal and turned them upside down with the hat-trick that secured Real’s qualification and Real’s dissolution , widely signed the French.

He wasn’t there against Barcelona. It was not achieved despite his efforts for the win and the time as Real played without the man who inspires the other 10 on the pitch and eats up a slap in the face unprecedented from his perennial opponent.

There were many who boldly declared that Clasico would have a different development with Benzema and a little later they can feel justified in a certain way. The 34-year-old Frenchman, who plays as if he had stopped time, delivered one of the greatest performances of a footballer in the almost 30-year history of the Champions League on Wednesday evening (April 6) and won us all excited him a little more king of sport.

In four minutes he twice defeated Medy with two unimaginably difficult heads that only a world-class footballer can catch and send the ball where he sent it while showing early in the second half that he’s not just a king, but also a worker goals, chasing what appeared to be a losing stage only to make a tragic error for the Chelsea keeper that allowed him to go 3-1.

Now that his performances look like a lie (but aren’t) the whole football family is talking about the incredible Karim Benzema and it’s totally justified considering how much he’s accomplished in one night, in one season but also in one period of 13 years in the Spanish capital …

So we have and we say:

● With those three goals, Karim Benzema finished 11th in this year’s Champions League and is just one shy of top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

● Those 11 goals allowed him to break the 80 mark in the tournament and enter a closed four-player club. He has 82 (only one with a penalty) and is chasing Lewandowski (85), with the top two spots belonging to Ronaldo (140) and Messi (125).

● He became the first player in Champions League history to score a hat-trick against Chelsea in the teams’ sixth meeting and indeed Real’s first win against the Blues.

● He became only the fourth consecutive hat-trick in the top flight, after Luis Adriano, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the only one with CR7 to do so in knockout games. It was his fourth hat-trick in top European club competition.

● He was the first French footballer to score more than 10 goals in a single Champions League season and first in the European Cup after the legendary Zist Fontaine in 1958-59 (10 goals).

● He is easily the most productive season of his career as he has already scored 37 goals in an equal number of games in all competitions. That is, games and goals.

● He has already surpassed Alfredo Di Stefano by eight goals and with 316 goals in all competitions in Real Madrid shirt this season, he is threatening to overtake Raul (323) and climb to second on the all-time top scorer list with 450 goals Cristiano Ronaldo).

He rightly enters the debate about the Golden Ball

With all this, many are now ‘shouting’ that the football genius, who goes by the name of Karim Benzema, should be recognized by a special individual award such as the Golden Ball, as Rio Ferdinand put it on a TV show by ‘BT Sport’ as a hint to the apotheosis of his face:

“He doesn’t stop scoring and he’s the one who took Real 12 points away from their pursuers in the Spanish league. He’s special, he’s a leader who emerged from Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow. He’s closed now ascended to another.” Step.

It’s the best #9 on the planet. We can talk about Lewandowski and say what a great player he is. We can also talk about Harry Kane regaining his form and say how awesome he is.

But this guy, Benzema, is on a different level right now. It’s amazing, it affects the game in so many different ways. It’s the goals, the assists, the way he connects with the other players. It has all the elements of the organizer and creator of the game, but it is the No. 9 who has scored 37 goals this year.

If they don’t engrave his name on the Golden Ball, I’ll be very surprised. “This man makes the difference, he’s a complete striker.”

Even if he doesn’t add the Golden Ball award to his vast collection in the season finale, it’s clear that he won an equally important award: that of universal acclaim and boundless admiration.

He took a little taste of the first reactions from the Madrid media when Marca christened him “Big Ben” on the front page today (7/4), inspired by the case of London and ace calling him “King of Europe”. Who of course feels perfect next to his beloved Queen Real.