Seven months, and he is already on his way
Karim Benzema is 38 and holds a contract that runs to 2030. None of that is stopping Al-Hilal. He is close to tearing the deal up barely seven months after signing it in the winter window.
Whether he goes is settled. Where he goes is not.
Three names keep circulating in the Spanish press. Staying in Saudi Arabia is the simplest, with a return to Al-Ittihad, the club he walked out on in January. AS has also floated Al-Shabab. The outsider, per Marca, is Major League Soccer.
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Lyon can stop dreaming
Fabrizio Romano says Europe has been ruled out entirely, and he names Olympique Lyonnais specifically. The boyhood club, the emotional homecoming at Groupama Stadium: not happening, at least not this summer.
AS reports that Benzema has no plans to stop playing. Marca tells it differently and says retirement is still somewhere on the table. Two Madrid papers, two versions, which is usually a sign that nobody close to the player has decided anything yet.
A Ballon d’Or winner from 2022 sifting through three leagues and possibly the end of his career is not a man following a plan.
Al-Hilal have run out of room up front
The Saudi side of this is purely practical. Al-Hilal have just confirmed Ollie Watkins for close to 60 million euros and are chasing more attackers. There is no space left in that forward line.
An expensive 38-year-old becomes a problem to solve in that situation. The club have pinned their project on younger signings, and Benzema’s Riyadh chapter will end up lasting about half a season.
The Saudi window shuts later than the big European leagues, so this has room to run. Al-Ittihad, Al-Shabab, MLS, or nothing at all.
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