Real Madrid's Karim Benzema Is "Best Striker In The World", Claims Anthony Martial

Anthony Martial has hailed Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema as "the best striker in the world" on current form.

Anthony Martial has hailed Karim Benzema as "the best striker in the world" on current form.

Benzema is the leading goalscorer in La Liga this season with 22, while the Real Madrid frontman also top the league's list of assist-makers with 11.

Despite being 34 years old, Benzema is literally in the form of his life.

He equaled two career personal bests during Monday night's 3-0 win at Mallorca.

Benzema's tally of 11 La Liga assists leveled his highest ever tally for one season, set back in the 2012/13 campaign. If he gets one more in Real's next 10 games he will beat that record outright.

His tally of 32 club goals in all competitions this season is another joint PB that Benzema will likely soon smash.

Top players deliver on the biggest stages and Benzema did just that last last week when he scored a 17-minute hat-trick to help Real knock PSG out of the Champions League.

Only Ajax's Sebastien Haller and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski have scored more UCL goals than Benzema this season.

"For me he is the best striker in the world, maybe along with Lewandowski," Manchester United striker Martial, who is currently on loan in Spain at Sevilla, told AS.

"Karim has been showing his quality for many years, and it's a pleasure to watch him play. He's also a great guy. I'm very happy that he's having another great season."

Karim Benzema applauds fans as France teammates Anthony Martial (center) and Paul Pogba (right) hold the UEFA Nations League trophy in October 2021 :: IMAGO/Sportimage/Jonathan Moscrop

Martial, 26, is a long-time admirer of Benzema.

The pair have been teammates on the international stage with France, but Martial still looks up to Benzema, who was his childhood idol.

Martial, who was nicknamed Little Benzema when he was in the youth team at Lyon, added: "I was always compared to Karim, and other strikers, because I was an academy boy.

"I used to watch him play and I wanted to be like him, so good. We played together in France, which was really cool."