MICAH RICHARDS had Thierry Henry stunned with his outrageous verdict on Karim Benzema.
And one fan labelled the take as the 'worst I've ever seen from a professional pundit' in a damning assessment of the ex-Manchester City ace.
Richards was left in awe as Benzema's 17-minute hat-trick fired Real Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Paris Saint-Germain looked on course to cruise through before the utter capitulation in the Bernabeu, punished emphatically by striker Benzema.
The Real stand-in captain's hat-trick were goals No77, 78 and 79 in the competition – fourth behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
And it FINALLY convinced Richards of his talent as a world-class No9 – but fellow CBS Sports pundit Henry was baffled it had taken so long.
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Richards said: "But now, he's convinced me."
Henry responded: "Just now?"
Richards continued: "Of late, in the last six months. He's convinced that he's up there with Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski."
A shocked Henry added: "Wow. Just tonight?!"
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And Richards confirmed: "Last six months."
The comments caused quite a stir on social media.
One said: "In all my years of watching football, this is truly the worst take I've ever seen from a professional pundit."
Another wrote: "I’m just as shocked as Henry was, Harry Kane would only dream of having half of the career of Benzema."
Benzema has scored a whopping 309 goals and assisted 156 in 592 Real Madrid appearances since joining from Lyon in 2009, where he won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles.
His record return in one season was 32 goals in 2011-12 but he has managed 30, 27 and 30 in the last three campaigns.
And he looks well on course to smash his previous best, already up to 30 goals in just 33 games this term.
At Los Blancos, the Frenchman's incredible 20-trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and the subsequent Club World Cup, too.
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Boss Carlo Ancelotti said after his match-winning performance against PSG: "Karim Benzema is a fantastic leader, a fantastic centre-forward.
"I'm very happy with what he's doing and his attitude."
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