After 14 seasons, Karim Benzema has decided to leave Real Madrid and pursue new opportunities, according to a report from ESPN's Julien Laurens:
“Karim Benzema has decided to leave Real Madrid after 14 years and 25 trophies including 5 Champions Leagues. His legacy is immense. An incredible person and an incredible player. One of the greatest ever.”
This is undoubtedly shocking but it is important to note that Benzema was just offered a lucrative deal in the ballpark of €100 million per season by a Saudi Arabian club. It's unknown at this point if he'll accept the offer, but the Frenchman would be foolish to turn it down.
Benzema's time in the Spanish capital was nothing short of spectacular. As mentioned by Laurens, he won 25 trophies in total, including five Champions League titles. The striker is undoubtedly the reason Madrid conquered Europe last season with his heroics in the knockout stages, finishing the competition with 15 goals in 12 appearances.
This term, Benzema was limited to just 23 games in LaLiga but he made them count, netting 18 times. In the UCL, where Los Blancos bowed out in the semifinals at the hands of Manchester City, the 35-year-old had four goals in 10 outings.
If Karim Benzema does in fact head to the Middle East to play for Al-Itiihad, he'll join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League and potentially Lionel Messi, too. The Argentine has received a mind-boggling $400 million per year offer from Al-Hilal and just announced his departure from PSG.
Needless to say, there could be some serious star power in Saudi Arabia in the very near future. As for Madrid, Vinicius Junior will now be the main man up top, but it's possible the club does go out and sign another proven goal scorer in the summer transfer window.
Follow Us
Subscribe