Karim Benzema Biography

Karim Early Lived

Karim Benzema (pronounced /bɛnˈzeɪmə/, born 19 December 1987 in Lyon, is a French footballer who plays as a striker for the Spanish club Real Madrid and the French national team.

Benzema came through the youth academy at Lyon and has been capped at senior level for France. He played in UEFA Euro 2008 and was the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 for the 2007–08 season, just 3 seasons after making his professional debut. This was also his breakthrough season which saw him earn many awards and a new contract which resulted in him becoming one of the highest-paid footballers in France.

On 1 July 2009, it was announced that Lyon had reached an agreement with Spanish club Real Madrid for the transfer of Benzema. The transfer fee was priced at €35m with the fee rising to as much as €41m based on incentives. On 9 July, Benzema completed his transfer after taking a medical and signing his six-year contract.
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Early life

Born in Lyon to parents of Algerian-Kabyle descent, Karim grew up with 8 siblings and his father Hafid in the district of Bron. His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tighzert, located in the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled, in the 1950s.

Lyon and Early career

Benzema is a product of the Olympique Lyonnais Academy. Before joining Lyon, he trained at local Rhône-Alpes club Bron Terraillon SC in the commune Bron, a suburb of Lyon. His performances with Bron's youth team caught the attention of Lyon scouts and he joined the academy in 1996 at the age of 9. Benzema quickly ascending up the ranks scoring 38 goals in one season with Lyon's under-16 team and scoring 12 goals in 14 matches with the under-18 team before earning a call up to the senior squad by manager Paul Le Guen.

He made his league debut for Lyon on January 15, 2005, during the 2004–05 season, in a match against Metz coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute. Lyon won the match 2–0 with Benzema providing the assist on the second goal scored by Bryan Bergougnoux. Five days later, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal. Over the next two seasons, his play was limited making a total of 34 appearances and scoring 6 goals, including his first ever against AC Ajaccio in a 3–1 win, as well as his first UEFA Champions League goal against Norwegian club Rosenborg in a 2–1 victory.

for completed info visit-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karim_Benzema

LIONEL MESSI BIOGRAPHY

Life and Path To Succes

Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina, to parents Jorge Messi, a factory worker, and Celia (née Cuccitini), a part-time cleaner.His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona where his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883. He has two older brothers named Rodrigo and Matías as well as a sister named Maria Sol. At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge.In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Primera División club River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness that cost $900 a month. Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent as Messi had relatives in Catalonia so Messi and his father managed to arrange a trial, and FC Barcelona signed him after watching him play,offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. His family moved to Europe and he started in the club's youth teams.

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine footballer of Italian descent who plays currently for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Messi is considered to be one of the best football players of his generation, having received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona. Indeed, Maradona himself declared Messi his "successor".

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by FC Barcelona. He left Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in 2006–07: he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble winning campaign.

Messi was the top scorer with six goals, including two in the final game of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006 he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In Beijing in 2008 he won his first senior international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Cristiano Ronaldo on Santiago Barnabeu welcome " I AM VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE"

Record crowd welcomes Ronaldo to Real Madrid

MADRID, July 6, 2009 (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday he had fulfilled a "childhood dream" as he was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player before a record-setting capacity crowd of nearly 80,000 people at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

"I am very happy to be here," the 24-year-old Portuguese winger told cheering fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the Spanish capital after completing his long desired move to the club from Manchester United.

"For me it is the realization of a childhood dream, which was to play for Real Madrid. I never expected the stadium would be full just to see me. It is impressive," he added.

Club officials said the event had smashed the previous record for attendance at the unveiling of a footballer set in July 1984 when Diego Maradona was presented at Naples after signing from Barcelona before 75,000 people.

Real acquired the player from Manchester last month on a six-year deal worth 94 million euros (131 million dollars) and he will reportedly be paid 13 million euros each season, making him the most expensive player in the world.

Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA world player of the year, said he was "proud" to be the world's best paid footballer and would do all he could to help the team win the Champions League.

"I want to prove that they paid the right price for me," he told a lengthy news conference after he was unveiled where he fielded questions in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"We have a great team, a great coach, and we have to take it step by step. We have a really good chance to win the Champions League," he added.

Real, Spain's historically most successful team, last won the Champions League in 2002.
Ronaldo wore the black and white Number 9 jersey once sported by club legend Alfredo di Stefano during his unveiling.

The Argentine striker, Real's honorary president, was present at the unveiling as was Portuguese legend and former Real player Eusebio.

The number 9 jersey was recently vacated by Argentine striker Javier Saviola who joined Portuguese side Benfica last month.

While Ronaldo wanted to keep the number 7 which he used during his six years at Manchester, that number is already taken by Real captain Raul.

"Nine is a mythical number at the club. The numbers don't play. It is me who is going to play and I am going to play well," he said.

Ronaldo arrived in Madrid on Monday afternoon on a private flight from his native Portugal where he was on holiday to undergo medical tests before he was unveiled.

The head of Real's medical services, Carlos Diez, said Ronaldo was "in perfect condition" after the player underwent medical tests.

"His cardiac and lung capacity is extraordinary," he added.

Fans, many equipped with food and drinks to ease a lengthy wait, starting gathering at the stadium hours before the official presentation, which lasted about 30 minutes, got underway at 9 pm.
Real president Florentino Perez praised Ronaldo's "professionalism and talent" who is capable of taking the club to "the peak of world football".

Ronaldo will team up with Kaka, the 2007 FIFA world player, who signed with Real from AC Milan for 65 million euros from AC Milan in early June.

Kaka was officially unveiled on June 30 before 55,000 fans. He was the first big name who Perez signed since he returned in June for a second stint as president of Real.

Perez, who brought Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane to Real during his first term as the club's president between 2000 and 2006, is seeking to rebuild a squad which trailed arch rivals Barcelona last season by reviving his policy of signing football superstars.

Among Real's other signings is French striker Karim Benzema from Lyon and defender Raul Albiol, who joined from Spanish side Valencia.

I Will Be With Real Madrid On June 30 said Cristiano Ronaldo

Those waiting to see the world's most expensive player in his new colours will be able to so at the end of the month...

Cristiano Ronaldo will be presented by Real Madrid at the end of June and will become the world's most expensive footballer when he finishes his well-publicised holiday, he has revealed.

The Portuguese star is currently in his homeland after a trip to Los Angeles that made the front and back pages of newspapers and magazines around the world.

While Ronaldo recuperates from a long hard season and a busy Stateside trip, the media continue to report and contemplate the world record fee that Madrid are paying for him.


That does not seem to have affected the 24-year-old, who is clearly enjoying his summer break before he travels to the Spanish capital..

"I imagine that I will presented on June 30," Marca quote him as saying.

According to the report in the Spanish daily, the player will fly to Madrid and sign his contract before then, but nothing official will be announced.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com