Who Is Rihanna's Rumored New BF?

Ahh, the whispers of Rihanna's love life. I'm still holding on to a thread of hope that R8 is an album that is real and will actually be released at some point in this lifetime, but while I can't always get new Rihanna music, I can always count on a steady stream of gorgeous photos of the singer and rumors about her dating life. The dream of a Rihanna and Leonardo DiCaprio relationship has finally died down in light of his public PDA with Sports Illustrated model, Kelly Rohrbach, and on the other side of things, Rihanna has been seen around with a French soccer babe. So, who is this guy, Karim Benzema, who's been wining and dining my girl?

The rumors about these two hanging out have been around for a few weeks now, and the two seem to be steadily seeing each other. Most recently, Rihanna and Benzema were seen together at a Hollywood nightclub, Hooray Henry's, on a night that Chris Brown also attended — oop! There were no reports of an awkward run-in with the exes, but Rihanna doesn't need to pay him any mind since she's got herself a new little summer fling going on.

Here are some facts you might want to know about Karim Benzema, 'cause if he snags Rihanna, a lot of people are going to be talking about him off the soccer field very soon.

He's Quite The Soccer Star

Benzema was born in France and has played soccer since he was very young. He signed a $50 million contract with Real Madrid in 2009 and last year played in the World Cup on the French national team.

Rihanna Was A Fan Of His During The World Cup

Rihanna was very active on Twitter during the 2014 World Cup and was keeping up with all of the action. Last June, she tweeted a supportive message to Benzema and he replied back — I assume because he would be dumb not to. This may have been the first time they interacted.

He Has Also Been A Face For A Sports Brand

Rihanna has a face, for well, anything, and she lent her name to a new Puma collection. The whole athleisure thing is totally back in and it seems like Benzema is aware of that, too. He is currently an ambassador for Adidas and appeared in their epic "There Will Be Haters" campaign.

He Has An Adorable Daughter

Last February, news came out that Benzema's on-again-off-again girlfriend, Chloe de Launay, had given birth to their daughter, Melia. Benzema is a proud poppa, often sharing photos of her on his social media.

He Is Also Friends With Drake

Hmm, the Rihanna and Drake love story has always been complicated, but this takes the cake. I guess they truly are great friends, after all, because Drake has been snapped hanging out with Benzema and they look super excited to be together. No hard feelings from Drake, it seems.

He's Got Fancy Tastes

Not that I blame him, but he definitely plays as hard as he works. The soccer player has a taste for blinged-out foreign cars and private jets, the kind of lifestyle that Rihanna has been living for the past several years of her life. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Images: Getty Images