Samir Nasri

Real Madrid striker Eden Hazard has hailed Karim Benzema as the best striker in the world amid his struggles to reclaim his spot with the France national side. The striker has not featured for Les Bleus since his involvement in the blackmail case on teammate Mathieu Valbuena and he has been out-of-favour for the past four years.

With Didier Deschamps still at the helm, his prospects of returning to the national team seem to be non-existent but Hazard has nonetheless heaped praise on the former Lyon man, who has been in good run of form over the past 18 months, he told: “After having played with him for three or fourth months, I think that, right now, he's the best striker in the world. But [also] away from his role as a striker, he makes others better. I feel for him. It's always easier to play against a team that doesn't have Benzema in it.”

Benzema has contributed 41 goals since the start of the previous season and he has been one of France’s best scoring strikers during the same period. Still, he has not been able to convince Deschamps for a comeback and of late, French FA president Noel Le Graet has stated that the 31-year-old’s journey with the World Cup champions is over.

That has certainly not lowered his worth to Real Madrid and reports have emerged that the club are prepared to offer him with a new contract. Luka Jovic was recruited over the summer to provide competition to the Frenchman upfront but the former has barely got the nod for a starting spot with Benzema continuing to maintain a high level of performance. Benzema is the club’s leading scorer this term with 11 goals and five assists. His current deal expires during the summer of 2021.