Argentine legend Lionel Messi says there is no doubt that Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema deserves to win his first Ballon d’Or award this year. Messi has won this award for the world’s best footballer a record seven times.

This year his new club Paris Saint-Germain was knocked out by Real Madrid in the pre-quarter round of the Champions League. Benzema scored four goals against Chelsea in the quarter-finals and three goals against Manchester City in the semi-finals, which included capitalizing on a significant penalty in extra time in the second leg. Benzema was the top scorer in the Spanish league. Messi said that there is no doubt that this year has been great for Benzema.

Benzema has scored 323 goals for the club and with this he is equal to Real Madrid legend Ral Gonzalez. He is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (451). This season Benzema has scored 44 goals for his club in 46 matches.