Benzema, stunned by PSG’s collective strength, hits out at Real Madrid

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·25. April 2026

Benzema, stunned by PSG’s collective strength, hits out at Real Madrid

During an Instagram Live with rapper Rohff, Karim Benzema, 38, Al-Hilal’s striker, offered a notable comparison between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. The former Madrid player especially emphasized the collective strength of Luis Enrique’s PSG, while also pointing out the current limits of Madrid’s play.

Benzema: “The starter knows what he has to do, the substitute knows what he has to do”

“At PSG, what’s good is that when you put out the starting team, it plays, it plays... But when the coach makes a change in the 60th or 70th minute, the guys who come on bring you even more than the ones who started the match. And those are supposedly the substitutes. Can you imagine that or not? Everyone knows what they have to do, what they have to bring. The starter knows what he has to do, the substitute knows what he has to do.

Benzema: “The substitute doesn’t sulk”

The substitute doesn’t sulk. At Madrid, it’s complicated because they don’t really play too much as a team. (…) PSG isn’t a team of stars, apart from (Ousmane) Dembélé, the Ballon d’Or. But forget that: they press, they defend, they attack, they run... The biggest name at PSG is Luis Enrique. But Paris is a real team. Put whoever you want up front, they all click together, and the substitutes click the same way. That’s why they’re so strong.”

Karim Benzema’s statement stands out above all because it comes from a player who knows Real Madrid inside out. Without slipping into cheap provocation, the former Madrid striker contrasts two dynamics: on one side, a Spanish team he sees as less clear collectively; on the other, a Paris Saint-Germain side capable of maintaining the same intensity no matter which players are on the field.

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His praise is aimed less at individuals than at the overall system put in place by Luis Enrique. In his analysis, starters and substitutes alike know their role, accept their place, and fit into a shared logic. That is precisely what gives weight to his words: Benzema does not stop at Parisian talent, he highlights a team culture. And for PSG, that is probably the strongest compliment of all.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.