Super striker Karim Benzema (35) will play in the black and yellow of Al-Ittihad from Saudi Arabia. The well-informed Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports this on Monday through Twitterfollowing the Saudi state channel Al Ekhbariya. Benzama is said to have signed “the most important part of the documents” that will keep him with the champion of the Saudi league until at least 2025. On Sunday, the French winner of the Golden Ball of 2022 played his last game for the Madrilenians. With a striking penalty kick he determined the final score (1-1).
It was already known that Benzema would leave Real Madrid after fourteen seasons, but his new destination was still uncertain. Al-Ittihad from Jeddah, the largest port city on the Red Sea, is one of the most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia with nine national championships. In Saudi Arabia, Benzema will receive an exorbitant salary of probably around one hundred million euros per year. At Real Madrid he earned according to the American company Capology an annual gross salary of 24 million euros.
So the transfer is not official yet, but when sports journalist Romano are prophetic ‘here we go’ to his 15 million followers, that moment is never far away. The 30-year-old Neapolitan, who is well connected in all parts of the football player market, is always ahead of the clubs, because they want to medically examine a player before announcing a transfer.
In Saudi Arabia, Benzema will meet his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (38), who signed with Al-Nassr in January and earns more than €200 million a year. Lionel Messi (35) may soon join them. He is persistently associated with Al-Hilal and will leave Paris Saint-Germain anyway. Should Benzema and Messi’s deals finally come through, a total of thirteen Ballon d’Or winners will play in the Gulf state next season.
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