Manchester United and Arsenal have recently been linked with a move for Karim Benzema. Now the attacker is responding to reports that he wants to leave Al Ittihad.
Benzema only moved from Real Madrid to Al Ittihad in the summer of 2023, where he signed a three-year contract that reportedly pays him 200 million euros per year. However, in recent days, various reports have claimed that he is unhappy in Saudi Arabia.
90min recently revealed that leaving the Middle East would be complicated even if the 36-year-old really wanted to leave. Along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, Benzema is considered the figurehead of the Saudi Pro League – a possible departure would have to be approved not only by Al Ittihad coach Marcelo Gallardo and sports director Roman Planes, but also by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sports.
Benzema has not yet told Al Ittihad that he is unhappy and wants to leave the club 90min further learned, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill after he returned late to training from a holiday in Mauritius.
In France it was reported on Tuesday that Benzema had called for a “temporary” departure from Al Ittihad, while the leading Spanish newspaper Brand reported that a meeting with the club’s hierarchy was pending after Manchester United and Arsenal expressed interest in signing him.
His former club Lyon is also said to be interested in Benzema, who scored 354 goals in his 14 years at Real Madrid.
Benzema has addressed the rumors of a possible exit The team now refuted: “That’s completely wrong! The French media no longer knows what to invent. The bigger, the better.”
Benzema’s astronomical salary would complicate matters even further. There is no question that he would also help clubs like Arsenal or Man Utd.
United are having a tough time in the Premier League, sitting eighth in the table after nine defeats from 21 games and having only scored 24 goals. Rasmus Höjlund has played well at times, but Marcus Rashford has struggled, while Anthony Martial is virtually a non-factor and is now out until April.
Meanwhile, Arsenal still have every chance of winning the Premier League title, but they are also having problems scoring a goal. The 5-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday made it possible to forget the two defeats against West Ham United and Fulham, but Gabriel Jesus has only scored three times in this competition – Bukayo Saka is the Gunners’ top scorer with six goals.
Benzema has scored nine goals and contributed five assists in 15 games for Al Ittihad, but they are far behind in the race for the Saudi Arabian Professional League title. Al Hilal are undefeated at the top of the table, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, and are a whopping 25 points ahead of Al Ittihad.
2024-01-25 10:14:13
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