'Au revoir, monsieur Benzema'

Knowing how and when to leave a place is not easy. Choosing the right time before you are invited out usually coexists with the attempt to extend the good a little more. Not knowing how to calibrate if it's too early or too late can spoil everything. But Benzema has known when it was time to say goodbye to Real Madrid. Like someone who makes a smoke bomb in a discotheque. He has earned an election and Saudi money, irresistible, has also helped in that election.

Although this has not been his best season, Karim will be remembered for the five Champions Leagues, the 25 titles in 14 seasons, for being the second top scorer in the history of the club and for having been part of a team that has marked an era. Everything is the result of a lasting relationship that, like all of them, has had its ups and downs. His start at Madrid was not an oil raft. He arrived surrounded by the doubts of those who did not see him at a sufficient level. Those questions ended up turning into criticism for his performance. The cat was not an affectionate nickname, but rather a mockery. Over the years, the feline became a lion.

Real Madrid, and above all, its president, have shown their love for him during all these years. Even when neither physique nor marksmanship accompanied him. Over the years he matured and no one can ever deny that he always knew how to be in the place where he had to be. Love is declared in many ways. There is no manual that says which is the correct way, nor which is the best. And his love for the white club, which called him when he was only 21 years old, he expressed it knowing how to adapt to every moment.

He was a supporting actor and waited in the shadow of Cristiano, perhaps out of shyness, until the Portuguese headed for the exit door. He stepped up when everyone was waiting for Bale. The Frenchman emerged as the 9 of Madrid, a role not easy and often thankless. He became a main actor, although with a different character from conventional strikers.

When you leave a relationship you can do it in two ways: leaving everything like an elephant in a china shop or with the elegance with which the Gaul has done it. He leaves the same way he has lived the last 14 seasons: discreet, keeping a low profile and without stridency.

His farewell has been an allegory of his time in the White House. On the grass it was a cold goodbye, devoid of emotion, perhaps because of the surprise of having heard the news of his departure that same morning. Or maybe it was for the moment. In this case, Ancelotti did not know how to find the right one. The change came too soon, just after scoring his last goal at the Bernabeu. His exit from the green was tarnished, as if it were not a goodbye, but a until the return of the holidays.

At the institutional level, the goodbye was with Florentino Pérez and with the 25 titles won. A three-minute speech, and not a tear, has been all we have seen from him. A very French ending. Like saying goodbye without saying goodbye. Because a timely withdrawal is a victory. Au revoir, monsieur Benzema.

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