Footballer Karim Benzema spotted wearing a Rolex

Karim Benzema was photographed in a Real Madrid Adidas training tracksuit on an airport tarmac — almost certainly ahead of a Champions League fixture given the club crest visible on his chest — with a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona secured to his left wrist. The sighting places one of football's most decorated players alongside one of watchmaking's most recognisable chronograph references.

The watch in question presents all the hallmarks of the reference 116520: a 40mm Oyster case in 904L stainless steel, a black lacquer dial with contrasting silver-toned subsidiary registers at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, and the tachymetre-graduated bezel executed in steel rather than ceramic — the latter being the distinguishing visual marker that separates the 116520 from its successor, the 116500LN launched in 2016 with a ceramic Cerachrom bezel. The applied baton hour markers and the three-register chronograph layout are crisp and immediately legible, consistent with Rolex's dial standards for this era of production.

The 116520's significance in horological history is hard to overstate. Introduced in 2000, it marked Rolex's decisive departure from the Zenith-sourced Cal. 3030/3135 architecture used in the 16520, debuting instead the manufacture Cal. 4130 — a vertical clutch, column-wheel chronograph movement beating at 28,800 vph with a 72-hour power reserve. The movement is regarded as a benchmark in column-wheel chronograph engineering and contributed substantially to Rolex reclaiming full manufacture credibility.

For collectors, the 116520 in black dial occupies a peculiar sweet spot: discontinued and replaced, yet not so distant historically as to be unobtainable. It trades actively on the grey market at a meaningful premium to its original retail, with provenance and service history determining spread. The white-dial variant commands a slight collector premium, but the black dial remains the more immediately recognisable configuration.

Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner and all-time Real Madrid top scorer, has demonstrated a consistent preference for understated, technically serious watches over flashy bejewelled pieces — the Daytona 116520 fits that profile precisely. A watch bought on merit rather than spectacle.