Champions League: Rio Ferdinand names ‘best number 9’ in the world

Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has hailed Real Madrid captain, Karim Benzema, as the best number 9 on the planet.

He was speaking on BT Sport, after Benzema’s hat-trick saw the LaLiga giants defeat Chelsea 3-1 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Ferdinand compared Benzema to top strikers around Europe like Tottenham Hotspurs’ Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich.

“He (Benzema) is the best number 9 on the planet for me.

“We can talk about Lewandowski, great player. Harry Kane has come back into that form we all knew about, great player.

“This guy (Benzema) at the moment is another level. He is phenomenal, he is impacting the game in so many different areas, not just goals, assists, link up play and slowing the game down,” Ferdinand said.

Benzema, 34, has netted 42 goals in his last 42 games. He becomes the fourth player ever to score back-to-back hat tricks in the Champions and his tally of 11 goals in a one season is the highest by any French player in the competition.