Real Madrid announced on Sunday that striker Karim Benzema would depart the club in the offseason as a free agent after 14 trophy-laden years with the club. Benzema is expected to sign with Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad. Benzema won the Ballon d’Or award for best player in the world in 2014.
The television station Al Ekhbariya, which is run by the government of Saudi Arabia, said that Al Ittihad had reached an agreement with Benzema on a two-year contract, and that club executives were in Madrid to negotiate a “record deal” with the striker.
After a season in which he suffered with ailments and lost out on France’s World Cup campaign in Qatar owing to another injury, the 35-year-old Frenchman had appeared to be ready to continue at the Spanish club for one more year. This news came after a season in which he missed out on playing for France in Qatar.
However, he is said to have had second thoughts after receiving an offer from Saudi Arabia valued by the media at more than 100 million euros ($107.05 million).
Real stated that the Frenchman “earned the right to decide his future” after he made the decision to nullify the one-year extension clause that was included in his previous contract.
“Real Madrid and our captain Karim Benzema have agreed to bring his brilliant and unforgettable time as a player at our club to a close,” the club said in a statement. “This will bring an end to his time as a player at Real Madrid,” Benzema was the team’s captain throughout his time there.
“Karim Benzema’s career at Real Madrid has been a shining example of conduct and professionalism, and he has represented the values of our club,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Benzema might follow his former Real teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to the Gulf country after Ronaldo signed a contract with Al Nassr in December worth an estimated more than 200 million euros over the course of two and a half years. Benzema played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
After Cristiano Ronaldo departed Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, Karim Benzema emerged as the club’s primary threat to score goals. Benzema had previously played for Olympique Lyonnais before making the move to Real Madrid in 2009.
With more than 350 goals scored for Real, Benzema is now in second place on the all-time scoring list for the club, behind only Ronaldo.
His finest season came in 2021-22, when he scored 44 goals across all competitions and led the team to a record-setting 14th European title as well as the LaLiga championship. In addition, he was the player of the year for LaLiga.
Real Madrid staged stunning comebacks in the Champions League from losing positions in the round of 16, the quarterfinals, and the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City respectively; Benzema scored in each of the second legs of those matches.
Because of his essential contribution, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or, becoming the first French player to do so since Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and the sixth Frenchman overall to take home the honor.
He ended his career in the Spanish capital with a record 25 trophies won while playing for the club, including five European Cups, four LaLiga crowns, and three Copas del Rey victories.
The news of Benzema’s departure comes only one day after Real confirmed that Eden Hazard will also be departing the club after the two parties reached an agreement to terminate Hazard’s contract a year early.
Real also confirmed the departures of attacking midfielder Marco Asensio and striker Mariano Diaz, which leaves Florentino Perez, the president of the club, with gaps in the attack that need to be filled over the offseason.