At a farewell ceremony on Tuesday, before making the transfer to play for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Karim Benzema claimed that it “hurts” him to leave Real Madrid.
According to a source from the Saudi club, who spoke with AFP on Tuesday, the forward, who is 35 years old, has signed a three-year agreement to play for the Jeddah-based side beginning with the upcoming season.
Benzema gave a statement during his goodbye at Madrid’s training site, during which he stated, “It’s a bit of a sad day, because I am leaving this club, it hurts me, because I had a dream in my head – to sign for Madrid, and finish at Madrid, but sometimes life gives you other opportunities.” Benzema was leaving Madrid because he had a dream in his head to join for Madrid and finish at Madrid.
“I will always watch Madrid’s games, and I want to thank the fans as well because they motivated me to play well,” he said. “I will always watch Madrid’s games.”
The French attacker moved to Madrid in 2009 from Lyon, where he had been playing in Ligue 1.
Benzema played a total of 648 times for Real Madrid and scored 354 goals during his career. Only Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals for Real Madrid than Benzema.
He is the current owner of the Ballon d’Or in addition to having won five Champions Leagues, four La Liga crowns, and three Copas del Rey trophies.
Benzema expressed his appreciation to Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, for the club’s decision to sign him.
“When I saw you, I said this is the man who brought Zizou (Zinedine Zidane) and Ronaldo, now he wants me in his team,” remarked Benzema.
“Real Madrid is the best club in the world, in history; however, the time has come for me to move on and experience another story.” “I will never forget Real Madrid; it is the best club in the world.”
Perez expressed gratitude to Benzema for all of the work he has done over the previous 14 years.
“Today it’s not just another player going, today we’re saying goodbye to one of the most incredible players in our history,” stated the head of the company. “Today we’re saying goodbye to one of the most incredible players in our history.”
“We are indebted to you for all that you have done for us; you came to this place when you were a young boy, but you will leave as one of our legends.”
The striker did not say where he would play for the upcoming season, but a source at Al-Ittihad told AFP earlier on Tuesday that Benzema had “signed a contract for his transfer for a three-year period”
If the transfer is finalized, Karim Benzema will join his former Real Madrid colleague Cristiano Ronaldo in the Gulf kingdom. Ronaldo, who has won the world player of the year award five times, transferred to Al Nassr from Manchester United after the conclusion of the 2018 World Cup. Benzema would become Ronaldo’s partner in the Gulf kingdom.
There has been speculation that Lionel Messi, who will be leaving Paris Saint-Germain after two seasons together, may transfer to Saudi Arabia instead.