- Real Madrid celebrating lifting the Champions League trophy
Karim Benzema will be promoted as Real Madrid’s third captain in the wake of Pepe’s departure, reports MARCA.
Madrid opted against extending Pepe’s contract and the Portugal international will leave this summer after 10 years at the club.
- Karim Benzema
His departure means someone will need to fill his role as the third captain at the club, behind current skipper Sergio Ramos and his deputy Marcelo.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a case to be promoted but Florentino Perez needs to resolve his future before anything like that can be considered, with Benzema set to be promoted after being next in line anyway.
The former France international is one of the most senior players at Madrid after joining from Lyon back in 2009 and the 29-year-old has the full support from manager Zinedine Zidane.
Since joining Madrid only Lionel Messi (295) and Ronaldo (285) have scored more La Liga goals than Benzema (122).
