Karim Benzema

Bio:
Karim Benzema (born Karim Mostafa Benzema on December 19, 1987 in Lyon, France) is a French professional soccer player. Karim began playing soccer with his hometown club of Bron Terraillon SC at the age of 8. He started to gain attention when he scored two goals in a single match against the Youth Academy squaid of the Olympique Lyonnis, a French association soccer club. He was recruited by the Lyon’s Youth Academy and in 2004, Karim made his professional debut. During his three years with the Lyon club, Karim excelled at the game and helped Lyon win three league titles. In 2009, Karim was transferred to the Spanish club, Real Madrid. He appeared in his first game in July 2009 and scored the game’s only goal. Though he struggled with his first year, Karim found success in the 2010-2011 season, scoring multiple hat tricks. He continued to find success with Real Madrid, helping the team win multiple titles, including the Champions League cup for the 2013-14 season. Though he tried to make the French national team for the 2010 world cup, Karim would play for France in 2014’s tournament. Unfortunately, they would be eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals.

Best Known For:
Karim Benzema is best known as a French soccer player playing for Real Madrid.

Personal Life:  
Karim is of Algerian decent. He is a practicing Muslim. He is the third youngest in his family and has eight other siblings. Karim was involved in a 2010 investigation over him allegedly having sex with an underage prostitute. The first hearing in the trial was in June 2013. In 2014, Karim’s longtime girlfriend, Chloé de Launay, gave birth to a daughter, Melia.