Benzema signs for Saudi club Al-Ittihad
MADRID: Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema will join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia after signing a three-year deal with Al-Ittihad, the Jeddah-based club confirmed on Tuesday.
“Benzema is here. A new tiger will roar. Welcome to Ittihad!,” the club wrote on Twitter.
Benzema will join his former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo in the Gulf kingdom after the five-time world player of the year moved to Al Nassr from Manchester United following last year’s World Cup.
Lionel Messi, who is leaving Paris Saint-Germain after two seasons, has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Senior officials from another Saudi Arabian club, Al Hilal, have flown to France to try and seal a deal for Messi after the 35-year-old Argentinian played his last game for PSG at the weekend, two sources with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Sunday.
The Saudi delegation plans to meet Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, with the aiming of completing the signing as soon as possible.
The announcement regarding Benzema comes days after Real Madrid said that the 35-year-old Benzema was leaving the club after 14 seasons, the day after coach Carlo Ancelotti had insisted there was “no doubt” Benzema’s future was in the Spanish capital.
Benzema joined Madrid in 2009 from Ligue 1 side Lyon.
He made 648 appearances for Madrid and is second on Real’s alltime goalscoring list with 354 — only Ronaldo has more.
He has lifted five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and three Copas del Rey with Madrid.
But after a stellar 2021-22 season when he led Real to Champions League glory and was rewarded with the Ballon d’Or, he was troubled by injuries in the just-completed season and had to miss France’s World Cup campaign in Qatar last year with a thigh problem.
The former France forward held a goodbye ceremony at Real’s training ground on Tuesday.
“It hurts me, because I had a dream in my head — to sign for Madrid, and finish at Madrid,” he told an audience of his teammates and club officials.
“But sometimes life gives you other opportunities.”