Karim Benzema believes he can emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and win the Ballon d'Or if he follows his Real Madrid teammate's example.
While Ronaldo, 30, won a second successive Ballon d'Or in January, Benzema, 27, was 16th in the poll, and the former Manchester United star has 31 La Liga goals this season to the Frenchman's 13.
However, the striker told Le Parisien that his display in last weekend's Clasico, during which he set up his Portuguese teammate's goal with an intelligent flick, proved he can harbour realistic ambitions of snaring football's biggest individual prize.
"If I continue winning trophies, yes, I can win it one day," Benzema said, having impressed for Real in their 2-1 loss to Barcelona at the weekend.
"Barca-Real is the biggest game in the world. The standard is at its maximum, with very few technical errors. When you manage to be good in that kind of game, it means it's possible for you to get closer to the level of Cristiano and [Lionel] Messi. On Sunday, I got myself to that level. Having said that, I am not going to score 80 or 100 goals in a season. They manage to do that, but I do other things."
The former Lyon striker, who has delivered on the hopes vested in him upon his move to Madrid in 2009, detailed his daily routine for Le Parisien, highlighting his gym work and the bi-weekly use of a special electro-stimulating vest as proof of his own drive to progress and reach the level of his prolific teammate.
He said: "I look, I ask, I see. I want to improve, always do more. Anyway, I have an example in front of me: Cristiano Ronaldo."
After being tipped for stardom from a young age, Benzema is the only member of a highly promising generation that has been able to establish themselves at international level.
Jeremy Menez and Samir Nasri, who both won the Under-17 European Championship alongside Benzema in 2004, are out of favour with current France boss Didier Deschamps with the latter going one step further and announcing his retirement from international football last summer.
Another star of the 2004 side, Hatem ben Arfa, is currently without a club after administrative issues scuppered his return to France with Nice in January.
"They're talented, but perhaps they didn't make the sacrifices needed to stay in the national team," said Benzema, who may even captain France in Thursday's friendly with Brazil in the absence of the injured Hugo Lloris.
"The sacrifices are almost nothing, like saying nothing when you're criticised. People can massacre me, and I won't say a thing. I have taken so much! But I know you mustn't answer back, even if it's difficult, even if it's hard, even if it hurts. I hope they'll get back into the national team one day."
Ben Arfa, who came through the Lyon youth academy with Benzema, will merely hope to return to the pitch come the start of the new season. Benzema admitted he felt the talented midfielder's career began to go off the rails when he opted to move to Marseille in 2008.
"Hatem, I saw him do incredible things. Hatem was Messi. But he didn't make good career choices," Benzema said before sending his former teammate a message. "He's 27, it's up to him to take himself in hand. He shouldn't have left Lyon so young, a year before me. And it's all or nothing in Marseille. You either take off or get buried."