Karim Benzema 'Was Open' to 2018 Lyon Return, Says President Jean-Michel Aulas

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has said the club approached Real Madrid last summer over the possibility of signing Karim Benzema. 

Benzema moved from the Ligue 1 side to Los Blancos in 2009 and has been a consistent performer in a successful spell for Madrid. 

Speaking to Tout Le Sport (h/t Football Espana), Aulas said they tried to bring Benzema back for a second stint last year.

"We talked to him about this last year, and he was open to it," said the Lyon chief. "But we could not get together the necessary economic figures, but one day it would be beautiful if he could come home."

Prior to this season, Madrid and Lyon did some business, as the former activated a buyback clause they had in the contract of Mariano Diaz. Following the sale of the striker, Lyon signed Moussa Dembele from Celtic.

While Benzema hasn't attracted the headlines of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or Luka Modric in recent years during Madrid's dominance of European football, he's been an important member of various successful sides.

Benzema netted the opening goal in the UEFA Champions League final win over Liverpool in 2018, helping Madrid to their fourth European Cup in five years. In each of those four triumphs, Benzema has started at the point of the attack in the final.

In what has been a disappointing campaign for Real Madrid overall, Benzema has been one of the few players to shine. Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC shared figures that put his goal return into context:

With Ronaldo gone, Benzema has also been able to take more responsibility in attack, showcasing more than just goalscoring instincts:

Here are the highlights from Madrid's 4-1 win over Real Valladolid on Sunday, when the forward was on the scoresheet twice:

Following on from the sale of Ronaldo, Madrid would have no doubt been reluctant to lose Benzema ahead of the current campaign.

At times the striker has had his critics, as he's not the most dynamic nor flamboyant footballer. But in his 10 years at the club he's been a tremendous foil for others, and it's no surprise he's excelled under pressure as of late.

He's also among the most prolific players in Madrid's history:

Lyon have enjoyed success in recent years on the back of signing young players and developing them. At the moment, the likes of Memphis Depay, Tanguy Ndombele and Dembele are excelling, along with academy graduates Nabil Fekir and Houssem Aouar.

Bringing in Benzema would be at odds with that plan, although having spent his early career with Lyon it would be a romantic switch. However, you suspect new manager Zinedine Zidane will want to keep Benzema on board as he seeks to rebuild the side in the summer.