Lyon coach explains how Ronaldo helped and hurt Benzema’s career

Scoring 44 goals in 46 games across all competitions, the French man was essential for

to triumph in a continental double the last term in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

However, it wasn't until

Cristiano Ronaldo

left Real Madrid in favor of Juventus in 2018 that

not only became a key player for the Los Blancos but was also named the world's best footballer by France Football this year as many wonder how his career would have gone if he didn’t join Real Madrid in 2009.

Benzema's former youth coach at

,

Armand Garrido

elaborated on this question in his interview with

. He said:

"Yes, the fact of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, he was overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo. But at the same time, yes, he learned a lot with Cristiano Ronaldo.

"He certainly learned how to work, how to train, how to keep a healthy lifestyle. Nowadays, there are other players like Cristiano Ronaldo, who are old compared to the kind of players we can be expecting at a very high level, and [Ronaldo] is still playing at top level.

"So, yes, Benzema learned a lot from Cristiano, but he was also overshadowed by Cristiano."

Spending more than a decade in Madrid, the 34-year-old going to be remembered as a

Real Madrid great

. Garrido revealed he felt Benzema’s decision to join Real Madrid back in 2009 was "crazy". He added:

"When he leaves to sign for Real Madrid, my first thought was that he's crazy; he chose the toughest club.

"Not [crazy] to join Real, of course, but maybe [it would be better] joining before another club superior to Olympique Lyonnais.

"We did not think that it was the best way to earn a place at Real Madrid, but when he does it, it is when we realise that he's a world-class player."

Follow 

 for the