Benzema’s legacy is ever larger. There can have been few clearer winners

Luka Modric knew, but then so did everyone else. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and Real Madrid had just defeated Barcelona in another clásico – Rodrygo had scored, Fede Valverde had scored and Karim Benzema had scored of course – and the Croatian was standing at the side of the pitch, where his teammates were celebrating their return to the top of the table. “We all know what’s going to happen and we all want it to happen and we’re very happy for Karim,” he said. “We hope that tomorrow he will win the Ballon d’Or.”

Modric, the winner in 2018, wasn’t there when Benzema boarded a plane at Barajas airport just after 3.30pm the following day, but Benzema was joined by Thibaut Courtois. The club’s president, Florentino Pérez, travelled with them. Luis Figo and Ronaldo Nazário were on board, too. They have three Ballon d’Ors between them. By the time they made the return journey, there was a fourth. Five of the past eight have made the same journey. Benzema is the first Frenchman to win it since Zinedine Zidane 24 years ago and the sixth Real Madrid player.

When Pérez went to Benzema’s house at No 33 Rue Youri Gagarin to convince him to come to Spain, he told him that he could become the best player in the world and that Real Madrid was the best place to make that happen. It has taken 14 years, and there may even be an argument that in his case being at Madrid was an obstacle at times, the shadow cast by Cristiano Ronaldo colossal, but now he is.

If there have been doubts over the years – and there have been many, many of them, Benzema clearly believing his football has been misunderstood – there were very few this time. Modric knew; the Bernabéu knew, singing him on his way with chants of Karim, Balón de Oro; everyone knew.