Karim Benzema is reluctant to compare himself with two other Real Madrid Ballon d'Or winners - Ronaldo Nazario and Zinedine Zidane.

Benzema won the Ballon d'Or on Monday night.

The France striker said, "Zizou and Ronaldo are different players, they are role models, I know I can't do what they do on the pitch, but they help me try; I know that I will never be at the level of both of them. They have already won it and I have done it now, but getting to that level is complicated.

“When I was little I played with older people and I had to be faster in my head; move faster, act faster, everything a little bit faster, because people were older and stronger than me. So, I think that has helped me, because right now my game is more than one touch and when the ball comes, I know what I'm going to do next."

On coach Carlo Ancelotti and the bets of the Italian coach, to motivate his players, he revealed: “I know him, he is a great coach, he gives me a lot of confidence, he lets me play my football. What he always asks of me is: play. Play my football to win, to make a difference, but not without putting pressure on either.

"I remember one day in the office, he asked me how many goals I am going to score and he told me, 'let's make a bet, I think you can score 50 goals'. As I have a lot of confidence, determination and ambition, I told him 'ok, let's go'."