Arriving with great fanfare in Saudi Arabia last summer, Karim Benzema has quickly become a burden for Al-Ittihad. Immersed in a crisis for the past few weeks due to his performances and the anger of supporters, the Ballon d’Or winner is now at odds with the new coach, Marcelo Gallardo, who has excluded him from the pre-season tour due to a new breach.
French striker Karim Benzema is at the center of a media storm in Saudi Arabia. A true icon of European football, the former Real Madrid player is accused of lacking professionalism and respect towards Al-Ittihad and its coach, Marcelo Gallardo. In fact, he has just been excluded from the team’s preparation camp in Dubai after missing several training sessions and failing to report back on time. Today, Nueve’s future in the Saudi kingdom is more than uncertain.
A controversial transfer
Karim Benzema surprised the football world by leaving Real Madrid, where he had become the go-to player and the number 1 star, to join Al-Ittihad. After several years of loyal service with the Madrid team, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner was quickly enticed by the staggering offer from Saudi Arabia. With an annual windfall of 200 million euros, the 36-year-old striker quickly seized the opportunity to boost his bank accounts before hanging up his boots.
Welcomed with great enthusiasm by the Al-Ittihad club, Benzema quickly realized it wasn’t a walk in the park. Faced with the demands of the club’s supporters, who aim to become serious competitors to teams like Al Hilal and Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, the French striker realized he wasn’t on a leisurely stroll. Despite scoring some splendid goals, Karim Benzema started to alienate the club’s supporters with defeats and, above all, his perceived lackadaisical performance.
Defeats in the Club World Cup and Al-Ittihad’s current position in the Pro League (7th) complicated matters at the end of last year. Some supporters even nicknamed Benzema “Ben-Hazima,” which means “son of defeat” in Arabic, in reference to his disappointing performances.
Misleading statistics
On the field, Benzema displayed impressive statistics in the Saudi Pro League, with 9 goals and 5 assists in 15 league matches. In the league’s top scorer standings, he is ahead of players like Sadio Mané, Riyad Mahrez, and Malcom.
However, these performances do not reflect the reality of Benzema’s game, as he has often been criticized for his lack of commitment, nonchalant attitude, and isolation on the field. Isolated with weak bonds with his teammates, Karim Benzema is struggling to connect with his coach, Marcelo Gallardo. If Gallardo replaced the Portuguese Espirito Nuno Santo at the club due to difficulties with the French striker, Gallardo is already under tension.
Repeated absences
The tension between Karim Benzema and Al-Ittihad has reached its peak in recent days, with several episodes highlighting the rift between the player and the club. The first occurred on January 4 when Benzema requested a three-day leave for “special circumstances” without providing more details. He flew to Madrid without the club’s authorization, which tried to downplay the situation.
The second incident took place on January 12 when Benzema did not show up for the resumption of Al-Ittihad’s season, which had organized a presentation day at its facilities in Jeddah. The Frenchman missed an important meeting where Gallardo was supposed to outline his goals and working methods for the second half of the season. Feeling very offended, the Argentine coach then decided to exclude Benzema from the preparation camp that the team is set to undergo in Dubai from January 14.
According to Marca, citing sources in Saudi Arabia, Benzema had already missed three training sessions since the end of the year in Jeddah, before the official holidays and Christmas vacation.
What’s next for Benzema?
Given this situation, Benzema’s future at Al-Ittihad seems compromised. The Frenchman, who still has a year and a half left on his contract, could be transferred this winter if the club finds a buyer. Several Saudi media outlets mention the possibility of him changing clubs within the country. Others talk about the player’s desire to leave the kingdom and return to Europe.
Far from Cristiano Ronaldo’s standards in the kingdom, Benzema does not receive any preferential treatment as a star. In any case, the player’s camp attempted to explain his absence from the official meeting by mentioning the threat of a cyclone on Mauritius, which disrupted travel plans. As noted by Onzemondial, this explanation is not sufficient for the Saudi club, which points out that Benzema was expected in Saudi Arabia on Friday, not over the weekend.
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