Cristiano Ronaldo helped Karim Benzema "on and off the pitch" while at Real Madrid, but Los Blancos' current talisman knew he could do more when his former team-mate departed.
Ronaldo is Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer, having netted 450 times in all competitions between 2009 and 2018, when he joined Juventus.
Benzema has since picked up the mantle, however, scoring a remarkable 131 goals in the past four seasons. While Ronaldo's Manchester United future is in doubt, his old strike partner is thriving.
Of players in Europe's top five leagues last term, only Robert Lewandowski (50) – who will go up against Benzema in LaLiga after his switch from Bayern Munich to Barcelona – scored more goals in all competitions than the France forward, who averaged a goal every 88 minutes.
Asked ahead of the Super Cup clash with Eintracht Frankfurt whether Ronaldo's exit had directly benefited his own form, Benzema told a news conference: "It's true I've scored more goals but when Cristiano was here we had a different style, I provided more assists and he helped me on and off the pitch.
"I knew I could do more [at the time] and when he left it was the time to change my game and ambitions, I'm doing that at the moment."
Benzema's form has seen him emerge as a favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or, a bid only strengthened by Madrid's success in LaLiga and the Champions League last campaign.
But the striker is simply focused on his team's exploits, adding: "I'm not like that in terms of whether I'm the best or not, I always give my all for this club, the best club in the world.
"I have to give more and more every year, it's true I had a very good season, but other people can comment on if I'm the best in the world. I'm focused on helping my team in matches, that's all I can say.
"I'm not thinking about [the Ballon d'Or], there's trophies to win every year, that's very important. I always stress the importance of success for the team that leads to individual success."
For Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, there is little doubt that he has the best forward in world football at his disposal.
Asked if Madrid, who wanted to sign Kylian Mbappe before Benzema's compatriot signed a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain, needed to bring in a back-up striker before the transfer window closes, Ancelotti replied: "We have strikers, plenty of them. Benzema, Mariano [Diaz], [Eden] Hazard, Rodrygo, Vinicius [Junior], have I forgotten any?
"When you're missing the best striker in the world, there are alternatives, but it's impossible to replace Benzema, no player in the world can replace Karim. If anything happens, we will adapt."
Guyana secures 4-1 victory over Barbados in first leg of Concacaf Nations League Play-In Series
Guyana defeated Barbados 4-1 in the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League Play-In series at the Barbados Football Association Technical Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados on Friday
The Concacaf Nations League Play-In consists of a home-and-away direct elimination round. The aggregate score winner in each matchup will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims.
Niall Reid-Stephen opened the scoring for Barbados in the 17th minute, his seventh goal of the current campaign, with a left-footed strike from inside the penalty arc.
Omari Glasgow equalized for Guyana nine minutes later with a left-footed strike inside the penalty area.
Then, 14 minutes into Glasgow added a second to his tally in the by pouncing on a deflected ball in the penalty area.
Osaze de Rosario extended the lead in a minute later with a chip over the goalkeeper to capitalize on an error from the defense.
Enoch George scored in the 90'+2 to put a bow on the victory, connecting on a timely pass from Isaiah Jones.
Guyana will host Barbados in the second leg on Tuesday at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, Guyana.
Donnarumma: France can still hurt Italy without Mbappe
Gianluigi Donnarumma says Kylian Mbappe's absence will not make Italy underestimate France ahead of their top-of-the-table Nations League clash.
Both teams have already qualified for the quarter-finals, but top spot in Group A2 is still up for grabs.
Italy currently sit top of the pile, three points ahead of France, who they beat 3-1 in early September, but a win for Les Bleus could see them drop to second.
However, for the second international break in a row, France are without their captain, Mbappe, with Didier Deschamps insisting he made the decision to leave the Real Madrid forward out of the squad.
France are unbeaten in their last three games without Mbappe, winning two and drawing one, and though they struggled in front of goal against Israel in a 0-0 stalemate last time out, Donnarumma believes they will still pose a threat to the Azzurri.
"Yes, I don't know about the choices that are made in other squads. I don't know what happened, it's [Mbappe] certainly an important absence," Donnarumma told a press conference.
"I know Kylian, he is one of the strongest in the world and if he was here, he could have troubled us a lot, but there will be other players.
"I know all of them well, they have great quality, strong strikers like [Bradley] Barcola, [Randal] Kolo Muani and [Warren] Zaire-Emery, who play with me. Barcola is an incredible talent, so they have very strong substitutes who can bother us."
Italy are unbeaten in the Nations League, only dropping points in a 2-2 draw with Belgium in October after going down to 10 men.
It comes on the back of a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign in which they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Switzerland, winning just one game in their title defence.
However, Donnarumma believes Italy have found their rhythm again and have more in common with the Euro 2020 winning team.
"It's a healthy group, I'm starting to see the spirit of the old European Championship," he added. "They're all young guys who want to show what they can do, who want to wear this jersey.
"The difficult part is to continue these performances. Our goal now is to continue to improve, work and enjoy ourselves and entertain the fans."
Tottenham 0-3 Arsenal: Gunners stay unbeaten under Slegers with derby rout
Arsenal retained their unbeaten record under interim manager Renee Slegers by thrashing North London rivals Tottenham 3-0 in the Women's Super League on Saturday.
Slegers had overseen a return of four wins and one draw from her first five matches in charge of the Gunners following Jonas Eidevall's exit, and her team managed another statement victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
They needed just 63 seconds to open the scoring through Alessia Russo, who fired across goal and in after turning on the left-hand side of the area.
Arsenal continued to dominate and only a fine block from Amanda Nilden denied Katie McCabe from eight yards, but Tottenham's resistance was broken again in the 22nd minute. Frida Maanum exchanged passes with Kim Little before slotting her finish into the bottom-left corner, with a static Spurs defence applying no pressure whatsoever.
Beth England drew a full-stretch save from Daphne van Domselaar as Tottenham briefly improved, but Arsenal killed the contest 66 minutes in, substitute Stina Blackstenius breaking onto Mariona Caldentey's delicate throughball to finish when one-on-one.
The victory takes Arsenal fourth in the table with 15 points, one adrift of Brighton, who continued their impressive start to the campaign with a 3-2 victory over West Ham earlier on Saturday.
Fran Kirby scored an 82nd-minute winner for the Seagulls after West Ham had fought back from 2-0 down to level the contest, having also assisted Rachel McLauchlan's opener. That first goal involvement took Kirby to 100 in the WSL, making her just the fourth player to reach that milestone.
Data Debrief: Fast start key for Arsenal
Tottenham improved in the middle period of the game but a slow start cost them, which will be a particular blow to coach Robert Vilahamn after they conceded within 24 seconds versus Manchester City last time out.
Russo's goal, scored after one minute and three seconds, is the second-fastest in Arsenal's WSL history, after Jordan Nobbs' 28-second strike against Liverpool in October 2014.
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