2024-01-01 18:23:58
01/01/2024 13:23hs.
On December 26, with Santa Claus already back at the North Pole and with the leftovers of the previous day’s sweet bread still on the table, Al-Ittihad was beaten 5-2 at home against Cristiano’s Al-Nassr Ronaldo.
Those led by Marcelo Gallardo suffered a hard blow and, worst of all, it did not end on the field. On social networks, Karim Benzema was one of the main people targeted for the defeat and the team’s poor present.
The harsh and excessive criticism of the Frenchman made him close his Instagram account, where he has a total of 76 million followers.
Benzema and his uncertain destiny (REUTERS)
On Saturday, December 30, the newspaper Al-Riyadiya announced that Benzema was absent from two consecutive training sessions and that he was not even in Saudi Arabia, but had taken a plane without permission to a, for the moment, unknown destination.
Where is Benzema?
The days passed and the rumors began to spread. This Monday, the same Saudi club justified the absence of the 36-year-old forward.
“Benzema traveled to Madrid for personal reasons, he asked for three days of rest, which were granted by the club”they stated from the Middle East cast to the AS newspaper.
Karim’s team was eliminated early from the Club World Cup (REUTERS)
Although it was said that the Frenchman is not comfortable in Arabia and that he planned to leave despite having arrived at Al Ittihad in July 2023, the institution was more than forceful: “Karim is a professional and is very close to the team”.
Is Benzema staying in Saudi?
The Frenchman signed a two-year contract with Al Ittihad in the middle of last year with the option to extend it for a third after his contract with Real Madrid, where he won everything, expired.
As reported, Karim will earn 200 million euros over the course of those two seasons and money will undoubtedly be the main incentive for him to continue in Saudi Arabia.
There are many questions and few answers about Benzema’s future (REUTERS)
A few weeks after arriving at the club, Benzema had declared that he felt “at home” in Jeddah although it did not go very well on a football level. Al Ittihad were even expected to fight for the league title, but they currently sit in seventh place in the Saudi league.
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