Football News: Men's Ballon d'Or 2022 contender Karim Benzema on changes made after exit of Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal forward left Los Blancos as the club's all-time leading scorer with 450 goals, having won his fourth Champions League trophy.

While Benzema is a respected striker in his own right, he was generally regarded as a backup player to Ronaldo in the latter stages of his Real Madrid career, as evidenced by the Frenchman's return of only 12 goals in 47 appearances in the 2017/18 season.

With Ronaldo no longer at Real Madrid, Benzema has resurrected his career and is generally projected to win the Ballon d'Or this year after leading Real to a Champions League triumph.

Before their UEFA Super Cup match against Eintracht Frankfurt, Benzema said he had to adjust his ways to accommodate Ronaldo's departure.

"It's true that I've scored many more goals, but when Cristiano was here, we had a different style of play, I was providing more assists," Benzema mentioned.

"He really helped me on and off the pitch. But at that time, I did know that I could do more and when he left, it was the time to change my game, change my ambitions and I am doing that well at the moment," he continued.

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