Benzema praises Mourinho but happy at Real Madrid

Benzema praises Mourinho but happy at Real Madrid

Karim Benzema has described new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho as “something special” but said he remains determined to stay at Real Madrid.

Benzema, who scored 24 La Liga goals last season, has regularly been linked with a move to the Premier League and there has been speculation recently that he could reunite with former Madrid boss Mourinho at Old Trafford.

The 28-year-old spent three seasons under Mourinho at the Bernabeu, winning the Copa del Rey and La Liga before things soured during the Portuguese’s third and final season.

Mourinho had memorably said the Frenchman was not suited to his tactics during his first year at the helm, saying: “If I can’t hunt with a dog, I will hunt with a cat. With a dog you hunt more and you hunt better. But if you have not got a dog and you have got a cat, you hunt with a cat. I know that making him play is the best thing I can do for Benzema, but is it the best thing for the team?”

Benzema told Marca that he thinks highly of the Portuguese, but he has repeatedly maintained over the years that he does not want to leave the Bernabeu and has not changed his stance.

“Mou was something special,” he said. “It did not go well at first, then better, with ups and downs. I’m not the same player now as then I was younger.

“But, hey, no club makes me dream like Real Madrid. I always say I’m at the best club in the world, with the stadium, the fans, with a very demanding level of playing, with the best players in the world.

“Away from here, I don’t know where to go really. I do not look to leave for another team.

“This is the top. There are other clubs that give a lot of money to play with them, but I am not like that. I like football and here is the best.”

Benzema enjoyed Champions League glory for the second time in three years on Saturday when Madrid defeated city rivals Atletico Madrid in Milan. He has been at the club since 2009 when he joined from Lyon.

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