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'He is the talisman, he is the leader now, and he has stepped out of the shadows of Cristiano Ronaldo': Rio Ferdinand hails Karim Benzema after his hat-trick against Chelsea... and even insists they should be 'engraving his name' on the Ballon d'Or

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has lauded Karim Benzema 'the best number 9 on the planet' and insists they should already be engraving his name on the Ballon d'Or.

The 34-year-old Frenchman notched a hat-trick to guide Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The striker has now scored 37 goals, his best-ever tally, in just 37 appearances so far this campaign for Los Blancos.

Former defender Rio Ferdinand has lauded Karim Benzema 'the best number 9 on the planet'
The Frenchman notched a hat-trick to guide Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea

His hat-trick follows a brace in their 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in the LaLiga on the weekend and a hat-trick to dump PSG out of the last-16 of the Champions League.