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Zinedine Zidane believes he is coaching one of the greatest players to suit up for France in the history of the national team. The Real Madrid manager told the press following a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao Tuesday that Karim Benzema is the greatest French striker of all-time.

Benzema scored twice in the victory that saw Los Blancos playing with a one-man advantage for 77 minutes of the match following an early red card for their opponents. Zidane was asked directly if his starting forward was the best striker to ever play for France.

“For me he is the best, because he has spent so long at Real Madrid and he keeps proving himself,” Zidane said in a news conference after the match, per Reuters. “He has played over 500 games and scored so many goals. His achievements and honors speak for themselves. For me he is the best, of course.”

If there’s ever a former player to speak about this subject, it’s certainly Zidane, arguably the greatest player to play for France in its history. So it’s safe to say that he knows he’s placing Benzema above all-time greats such as Thierry Henry and Just Fontaine, as well as current players Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe.

“He is a more complete player now than he used to be. He is not a pure No. 9, he doesn’t just think about scoring goals and that’s what I love about him,” the Madrid coach said. “He loves to combine with his teammates and create chances for them but he also knows how to score goals and he does that when the team needs him the most like he did today. That’s what Karim is all about.”

Sports report