Barcelona were interested in signing French striker in 2008 before move to Real Madrid

In a surprise revelation, SPORT has claimed that Barcelona were interested in signing Karim Benzema and made attempts to get him to Camp Nou in 2008 before his move to rivals Real Madrid a year later.

The 34-year-old is one of the best strikers in the game and has been performing at his best level in the last four-five years. While he had been a star performer for Real Madrid well before then, the Frenchman was overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo for a long while.

But following the Portuguese’s departure in 2018, Benzema has taken over the mantle of being the main man in attack for Los Blancos and led them admirably to success. However, if the aforementioned report is something to go by, things could have been very different for the striker.

According to the report, Barcelona were strongly interested in signing Benzema in 2008, just before Pep Guardiola’s first season as manager. The Catalan tactician was keen on adding a new forward while getting rid of some senior players, including Samuel Eto’o, Deco and Ronaldinho.

The same was communicated to sporting director Txiki Begiristain, who travelled on more than one occasion to Lyon to discuss a possible move for Benzema, who was just 20 years old at the time.

However, a move did not materialise, as Begiristain was not convinced about the French striker’s personality and doubted if he could adapt to the change of environment at that age.

There was a sense of reluctance from the player as well, as he wished to continue in France for another year, while Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas too was wanted to keep hold of his prized asset, having handed him a new contract not very long ago at that point.

In the end, Txiki Begiristain decided to overrule the move and Eto’o ended up staying at Camp Nou, helping the club win the historic treble under Guardiola.

As for Benzema, he moved to Spain a year later in 2009, signing for Real Madrid in a deal worth €35 million, and the rest, as they say, is history.