Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has expressed his disappointment at comments made by Gary Lineker regarding French striker Karmim Benzema last week.
Lineker was watching the Champions League games as part of his role as presenter with BT Sport when he tweeted a less than flattering opinion of Benzema, who he called 'decent, not great' as a centre-forward.
Is it me or is Benzema a tad overrated? A goal every other game in a team as strong as Real Madrid is nada especial. Decent not great.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 17, 2017
Lineker's issue was with Benzema's 123 goals in 248 appearances, a strike-rate he does not believe is good enough for an attacker at Real Madrid considering the players he plays alongside.
Many were quick to point out that Benzema is in the team, and has been for years, because of his link-up play and ability to occupy defenders and bring the wide-men into play, but Lineker still wasn't having it.
Ahead of Real Madrid's meeting with Eibar on Sunday, Zidane hit back after being presented with Lineker's comments by claiming that those who understand football can see the value in Benzema, and that it was a shame for someone involved in the game to say that.
Zidane has a really close relationship with Karim Benzema due to a shared Algerian background, and the Real Madrid boss spent most of the summer defending his #9 as Real Madrid were constantly linked with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Harry Kane is the latest player that is being linked with Madrid on a regular basis, but as long as Zidane is in charge if Benzema keeps putting in shifts for the team he will keep his place.
It does speak volumes that Benzema has been a starter for Real Madrid since the 09/10 season, and that simply does not happen at the Bernabeu unless you've got something important to offer.
