Real Madrid will pay out €1million to Lyon due to a clause in Karim Benzema’s contract, after the striker won this year’s Ballon d’Or award on Monday evening.
Benzema has gone on to score 328 goals for Madrid, the second-highest in the club’s history, behind only former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 34-year-old netted 44 goals as the LaLiga giants won the league title and Champions League trophy.
A clause agreed between the clubs when Benzema moved to the Spanish capital from Lyon in 2009 means that Real Madrid will have to pay €1m (£870k) to the Ligue 1 club as that was the add-on included for winning the Ballon d’Or crown.
“It is an immense pride with a lot of emotion because Karim is a child of Lyon.
“He is a child that we have seen grow up and that we have seen flourish. We have seen him succeed in almost everything he has undertaken,” Lyon’s president, Jean-Michel Aulas, said after the ceremony.
“And then that is partly for us, as we not only hired him since his first contracts, he signed them with us – that is a source of pride. Pride imprinted with a message, that of being an example and a leader because having a youngster like Karim who only plays two clubs in his entire career is special.”