155 Facts About Professional Football Clubs

1. Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema has stepped into the Portuguese's shoes as the focal point of Real Madrid attacks.

2. FC Barcelona has a vibe like no other place in the world.

3. Karim Benzema was born on 19th December 1987 by Hafid Benzema in the city of Lyon, France by and Wahida Djebbara (mother).

4. Karim Benzema made his debut in the competition on 9 June 2008 in the team's opening match against Romania.

5. Karim Benzema has already come up against Barca on 32 previous occasions in his career, including three times as a Lyon player.

6. In November 2011, Karim Benzema scored five goals; three in the league and two in Europe.

7. FC Pune City is an Indian professional football club based in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, which plays in the Indian Super League.

8. FC Barcelona have promised Lionel Messi they will extend his contract whenever he feels the moment is right.

9. On 28 January 2015, Alvaro Morata played the last 13 minutes of the Coppa Italia fixture against Parma, and scored the game's only goal at the Stadio Ennio Tardini to qualify his team to the semi-finals.

10. FC Barcelona can afford to rest one of Messi or Suarez here but doesn't seem like it.

11. Karim Benzema turned provider for the second consecutive match assisting on a goal by Sami Khedira.

12. Karim Benzema was a regular starter in the team at under-18 level.

13. Karim Benzema was the league's top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo.

14. Karim Benzema is back: His vertical and daring Lyon game returns.

15. Karim Benzema was defended by his compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who admitted "after two months, I was criticized" and that Benzema was "a talented player and talented players in Madrid must win".

16. Karim Benzema took one touch and curled it low, inside the far post.

17. FC Pune City have time and time again proven that they are all about promoting young talent.

18. FC Barcelona had a surprising history when Messi, Iniesta and XAvi were selected for the three best players by FIFA in 2010.

19. FC Pune City acquired I-League club Pune FC's academy and their home-grown talent alongside making a significant investment to upgrade the existing infrastructure by creating top-end training facilities.

20. Karim Benzema was 21 when he arrived in Madrid, so he understands what Vinicius Junior, Dani Ceballos, Alvaro Odriozola and Sergio Reguilon are currently going through.

21. FC Pune City is home to a number of governmental and non-governmental research institutes focusing on a wide range of subject areas from the humanities to the sciences.

22. Karim Benzema finished the exchange by burying a shot past Girona keeper Gorka Iraizoz in the 27th minute.

23. FC Barcelona will be looking to go all-out attack in the first-leg against Madrid.

24. Karim Benzema was chosen as La Liga Player of the Month for October 2014, with his manager Carlo Ancelotti winning the equivalent award.

25. FC Barcelona is guaranteed to be without goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen because of a leg injury.

26. Karim Benzema began his football career at his hometown club Bron Terraillon SC at the age of eight.

27. Karim Benzema got Madrid going when he put in the rebound of a save by goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who had parried Luka Modric's strike after Espanyol's defense backpedaled as the midfielder dribbled into the area.

28. FC Barcelona is 6 points behind Atletico Madrid, whereas the points difference between Barca and Real is eleven points.

29. FC Barcelona are pushing to bring Toulouse defender Jean-Clair Todibo to the club before the transfer window shuts, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.

30. Karim Benzema started the match, but was substituted out for Nasri in the second half after a frustrating performance.

31. On 11 May 2013, FC Barcelona were crowned as the Spanish football champions for the 22nd time, still with four games left to play.

32. FC Pune City is situated at approximately 18° 32" north latitude and 73° 51" east longitude.

33. FC Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and is located on the Mediterranean coast.

34. Karim Benzema is expected to lead the line for Madrid in Catalonia in midweek, so with that in mind Sports Mole looks at the Frenchman's goalscoring figures against Barcelona.

35. FC Pune City is well-connected to other cities by Indian and state highways.

36. Karim Benzema finished the campaign with six appearances as Lyon won its fourth-straight league title.

37. On 20 September 2014, FC Goa officially confirmed Premier League winner and former Arsenal footballer Robert Pires as their first marquee player.

38. On 2 March 2013, Karim Benzema opened the scoring against Barcelona in the league game at the Santiago Bernabeu.

39. Karim Benzema is the third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb of Lyon.

40. FC Barcelona was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1973 during his first season with Barcelona.

41. Karim Benzema assisted the team's second goal when his shot rebounded off the post and was fumbled over the goal-line by Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares for an own goal, the first World Cup goal given by goal-line technology.

42. Karim Benzema was born in the city of Lyon, France to French nationals of Algerian descent.

43. FC Barcelona advertised corporate sponsors on their uniforms on 2006 for the first time.

44. Karim Benzema started his footballing career at his hometown club of Bron Terraillon when he was just 8 years old.

45. FC Pune City has over a hundred educational institutes and more than nine deemed universities apart from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, which is the second largest University in the country based on total number of affiliated colleges.

46. Karim Benzema gave the visitors the lead in the 23rd minute and a Gustavo Cabral own goal near the hour mark sealed the points.

47. Karim Benzema brings it inside and Bale slots it home after winning it in the middle.

48. Karim Benzema made his league debut for Madrid on 29 August 2009 against Deportivo La Coruna.

49. Karim Benzema failed to score a goal until the final league match of the season against Nantes as Lyon recorded its sixth consecutive league title.

50. Karim Benzema was the last of the four to make his youth international debut under coach Philippe Bergeroo and officially joined the team ahead of the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship that was played on home soil.

51. FC Barcelona is the only club to have played in every season of European competitions since they started in 1955 counting non-UEFA competition Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

52. FC Pune City has Jain temples dating back to the Peshwa era.

53. Karim Benzema is a French professional football player and he is currently playing as a striker for the Spanish professional football club Real Madrid and for the French national football team.

54. On 15 August 2010, Alvaro Morata made his debut with Castilla in a friendly match with AD Alcorcon, scoring the only goal of the game.

55. FC Pune City owns 2 training facilities in the city of Pune.

56. FC Barcelona is one of the two teams who is blessed with tremendous squad depth, the other is Manchester City.

57. Karim Benzema scored his first goal at under-18 level in the competition against Poland in the team's final group stage match.

58. FC Pune City was prominently associated with the struggle for Indian independence.

59. Karim Benzema made his debut with the team at a local tournament in the Czech Republic.

60. FC Barcelona is the most successful club in Spain, in terms of overall official titles won.

61. Karim Benzema was born in the city of Lyon and began his football career with local club Bron Terraillon.

62. Karim Benzema has entered his tenth year at the Bernabeu in fine form.

63. Karim Benzema stars as Real Madrid maintain winning run under Santiago Solari.

64. Karim Benzema was even declared the "new Anelka" by a Spanish newspaper Marca blogger, referring to former Real Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka who had a tumultuous year at the club before being sold.

65. Karim Benzema opened the scoreline in the 28th minute, after which Marco Asensio added another during stoppage time of the first half.

66. FC Barcelona completed the rare sweep of Copa del Rey, Spanish league and Champions League trophies in 2011 and 2015.

67. On 30 April 2013, Karim Benzema scored one goal and assisted to Sergio Ramos against Dortmund.

68. On 7 November 2014, Alvaro Morata was called up to senior team manager Vicente del Bosque's squad for matches against Belarus and Germany.

69. Karim Benzema bagged a brace, while Sergio Ramos and substitute Gareth Bale  scored to move Los Blancos above Sevilla.

70. Karim Benzema was left celebrating a new Real Madrid landmark on Wednesday as he scored his 200th goal for the Spanish giants against Viktoria Plzen.

71. Karim Benzema has scored in the four competitions he has played in this season, making him top scorer for Real Madrid so far this season, with 7 goals.

72. Karim Benzema scored against the latter club in the Copa del Rey in each leg of the Round of 16.

73. Karim Benzema had many problems interacting with other children given his Algerian origin which he felt was discriminating.

74. FC Barcelona took the last meeting Despite his party losing the House, Trump wrote on Twitter, "Tremendous success tonight".

75. FC Barcelona has its own youth academy from which star players, such as Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta, have graduated.

76. Karim Benzema has outdone all big stars of El Classico by scoring the fastest goal in the history of the fixture.

77. FC Barcelona were hoping to take advantage of the Copa del Rey match against Real Madrid to give a nod to the Chinese community by having shirt names in the second language.

78. On 13 March 2008, Karim Benzema extended his contract with Lyon until 2013 with a one-year extension option.

79. Karim Benzema is the headline name in this week's FUT Team of the Week.

80. FC Barcelona is full of secrets and unpopular facts that have been kept through years.

81. Karim Benzema opened the 2012 portion of the campaign in positive form.

82. FC Pune City has the eighth largest metropolitan economy and the sixth highest per capita income in the country.

83. FC Pune City is the first football franchise in India to launch a digital loyalty program where fans can redeem their points to buy tickets, club merchandise or get discounts at their favourite stores or restaurants.

84. Karim Benzema started to serve his national team from a young age and started from Under-17 level.

85. FC Pune City went into the draft with an eye on acquiring young talent for the coming season.

86. Karim Benzema was shortlisted by French magazine France Football for the 2008 Ballon d'Or award, eventually won by Cristiano Ronaldo.

87. FC Pune City took the lead in a see-saw tussle through Marko Stankovic's deflected strike.

88. Karim Benzema looks back to his very best as Real Madrid swept Espanyol aside for their third victory in LaLiga in a row and back into third spot after Sevilla nicked it off them with their win on Saturday afternoon.

89. Karim Benzema has scored his 200th goal for Real Madrid.

90. Karim Benzema has scored the fastest goal in the history of El Clasico.

91. In March 2014, Alvaro Morata shaved off all of his hair in solidarity with sick children, saying "kids with cancer wanted to have my haircut but they couldn't, so I gave myself theirs".

92. Karim Benzema netted his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid continued their winning ways against Alaves.

93. FC Pune City has emerged as a new hub for tech startups in India.

94. FC Barcelona will have two great stalwarts in the said positions, in Busquets and De Jong.

95. FC Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera Division that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.

96. FC Barcelona will host Real Madrid on Wednesday at Nou Camp in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal series.

97. Karim Benzema quickly ascended up the youth categories in the academy.

98. Karim Benzema is occupying the fourth spot in the list of all-time top-scorers in the Champions League; only behind the two extraterrestrials, and club legend, Raul Gonzalez.

99. In 1943, FC Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of Copa del Generalisimo.

100. FC Barcelona held Messi out of the starting lineup against Real Madrid, but he appeared as a second-half substitute in the final 30 minutes of the match.

101. Karim Benzema was called up to the senior team for the first time under manager Paul Le Guen during the break leading up to the second half of the season.

102. Karim Benzema signed a new five year deal for Real Madrid on August 6, 2014.

103. FC Pune City has an American football franchise, called the Pune Marathas, which began playing in the inaugural season of the Elite Football League of India in 2011 and which plays at the Balewadi Stadium.

104. FC Pune City was part of the Jagir granted to Maloji Bhosale in 1599 for his services to the Nizamshahi (Ahmadnagar Sultanate).

105. FC Barcelona became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving eight years.

106. FC Pune City scored his second in the 30th minute but it was Kalu Uche's brace for the hosts.

107. FC Barcelona have been linked with De Jong for some time now, and it does look as if he will be on the move in the summer.

108. On 20 September 2017, Karim Benzema signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2021.

109. FC Barcelona has sent Canadian international Ballou Tabla out on loan to Albacete in the Spanish second division until the end of the season.

110. On 10 December 2015, Alvaro Morata signed a contract extension that kept him at the club until 2020.

111. Karim Benzema strikes again as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo in tough La Liga showdown.

112. FC Barcelona was found after an advertisement in the newspaper.

113. Karim Benzema debuted championship league from Real Madrid on September 30, 2009.

114. Karim Benzema was offered by the Spanish professional football club, Real Madrid.

115. FC Barcelona confirmed his exit earlier today before swiftly deleting the announcement.

116. Karim Benzema debuted in a pre-season friendly match with the Irish club, Shamrock Rovers, on July 20, 2009.

117. FC Pune City fans were able to get free Wi-Fi at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, as FC Pune City became the only football club to have free Wi-Fi for its fans during the Indian Super League.

118. FC Pune City is the only professional football club to have its own Merchandise Store, which is situated on Fergusson College Road, in the heart of Pune City.

119. Karim Benzema started the match and was replaced at half-time by Yoann Gourcuff.

120. In early August 2015, Alvaro Morata was ruled out for a month due to a soleus muscle tear in his left calf during training, and was sidelined for the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana.

121. Karim Benzema was in inspired form for Los Blancos, scoring his side's first after 23 minutes with a composed finish and then forcing Gustavo Cabral into an unfortunate own goal 11 minutes into the second half.

122. On 19 May 2010, the city of Athletic Bilbao was recognised with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, awarded by the city state of Singapore, in collaboration with the Swedish Nobel Academy.

123. FC Pune City lacks the capacity to treat all the sewage it generates, which leads to the Mutha river containing only sewage outside the monsoon months.

124. Karim Benzema continued his scoring form by finding the net twice in the first half at Montilivi Stadium.

125. FC Barcelona is renowned for its historically skillful and attractive brand of attacking football that places an emphasis on.

126. In 2008 and 2010, Athletic Bilbao won the Municipal Transparency Prize, awarded by the Spanish division of Transparency International.

127. Luis Suarez and Karim Benzema have often been the game changers in El Clasico down the years.

128. Karim Benzema made his season debut on 2 October 2005 in a league win over Rennes, appearing as a substitute.

129. Karim Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards.

130. Karim Benzema has failed to make the grade at Real Madrid in the past few seasons and has found himself in the firing line owing to the same.

131. FC Barcelona is rumored to want to make a move for Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich.

132. In June 1950, FC Barcelona signed Laszlo Kubala, who was to be an important figure at the club.

133. On 21 May 2018, it was announced that Alvaro Morata would not be part of the World Cup final squad due to poor club form.

134. On 6 June 2014, Karim Benzema was named in France's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making his debut in the tournament.

135. Karim Benzema is without a goal in eight LaLiga games, but Real Madrid caretaker coach Santiago Solari praised the forward.

136. Karim Benzema appeared as a half-time substitute for Djibril Cisse and scored the only goal of the match after a free-kick from Samir Nasri.

137. FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey.

138. Karim Benzema opened the league campaign on a quick note scoring in the team's first match of the season against Nantes.

139. Karim Benzema has become the most important player at Real Madrid.

140. Karim Benzema assisted on the opener, which was scored by Ronaldo.

141. Karim Benzema scores 200th Real Madrid goal with Viktoria Plzen strike.

142. On 14 May 2016, FC Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight seasons.

143. Karim Benzema became only the second French player based in Spain to win the award, and the second Real Madrid player to capture it.

144. Karim Benzema has won four times Championship league, two times Spanish Cup, two times Spanish Super Cup, and many more.

145. FC Pune City conducted the Orange Army Cup again this season, a tournament to bring together the supporters on European clubs in Pune to come together under the FC Pune City banner.

146. FC Barcelona has some good games in the next few fixtures as they will face Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey semi-final.

147. FC Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Supercopa de Espana for a ninth time.

148. Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but his goal was cancelled out by Steven Fletcher in the second half.

149. FC Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs not just in the footballing sense but as a brand as well.

150. Karim Benzema scored a goal and forced an own-goal in Real Madrid's win over Celta Vigo, marking a fourth successive victory for Los Blancos.

151. Since then, Athletic Bilbao has experienced an exponential growth in population thanks to industrialisation.

152. FC Barcelona says on Thursday that medical tests revealed Coutinho has a "small tear" in an unnamed muscle.

153. FC Barcelona is trying to win a record fifth straight Copa del Rey title.

154. Karim Benzema was called up for the first time to the senior national team by Raymond Domenech on 9 November 2006 for the team's friendly match against Greece that would be played on 15 November.

155. The members of FC Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.