Once again, it looks like Real Madrid and Barcelona will be fighting for the La Liga title, maybe even the Champions League. That wasn’t the case last season when the Blaugrana completely disappeared from the map after a certain Lionel Messi left. Since then, they have stepped up again.

Barcelona have had an extraordinary summer transfer window and, under Xavi’s management, looks once again to be one of the best clubs in the world.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, have only added players such as Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger, while dropping established stars such as Casemiro, Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Isco. But the Blancos’ squad is already so strong that they are still ahead of Barcelona in La Liga, even though it is still early in the season and there are still plenty of games to play.

One of their star signings, Robert Lewandowski, started the season in magnificent fashion. Xavi rated him as one of the best strikers in the world, although he did include the name of a Real Madrid superstar in the list. According to the Mirror, the Barcelona manager said:

“The best? With him, with Benzema, and with Haaland.”

There is no doubt that Karim Benzema has been one of the best players in the world for quite some time.

In fact, he is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this season, and deservedly, he inspired Real Madrid to the Champions League last season almost on his own.

However, Benzema has not had a smooth start to the season. He’s struggled for rhythm and suffered an injury in the Champions League game against Celtic that will keep him out for a month or so.