Florentino Perez did not take his plane to go look for Zinedine Zidane. He didn’t take his plane to go look for David Beckham. He didn’t do it for Ronaldo Nazariofor Kaka not even for Christianthe one who was going to become the best scorer in the history of the Madrid. The president of the most important club in the world only traveled personally to convince a footballer. It was in 2009 and Florentino landed in lyons to stay with Karim Benzemaat his parents’ house in the suburbs, in Bron. He had a drink and a second after telling the young striker that he wanted to sign him for Madrid he heard the definitive “yes” from Karim’s mouth. Benzema did not miss his word and his appointment with destiny, rejecting the call of alex ferguson and the money from Man Utd.
Many in Spain They did not understand Florentino’s passion for this French boy or his blind faith in his future. And less when things went wrong for him. Many in Spain, even within the board of directors, wanted to sell him but the president never gave in. He continued to believe, against all odds, that Benzema was going to succeed at Madrid and that he was going to show that he was, as he thought, the perfect mix between Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario. Last night, when Karim lifted his fifth Champions League, I remembered all this and I said to myself: Florentino was right.