The 200 million pushing Benzema out of Al Hilal... and into retirement?
The former Madrid player is close to terminating his contract after the Saudi club's galactic signings
“I will stay at Al Hilal” , assured Karim Benzema last August 21, after beating Al Fayha (0-3) . However, the former Real Madrid player, signed from Al Ittihad in February, seems to have his days numbered at the Kingdom Arena .
The team managed by Simone Inzaghi is pushing him to leave after spending 205.87 million euros on signings. To the 64.5 million paid for Crysencio Summerville (West Ham) and the 58.4 million paid for Ollie Watkins must be added the 70 they are going to shell out for Gabriel Martinelli .
That without counting the 7.67 it has paid for Mohammed Mahzari (Al Taawoun) , the 3 that Mohamed Al Sarnukh cost, and the 2.3 for Sabri Dahal (Al Fayha) . In addition, Mohammed Al Owais (Al Ula) and Abdullah Al Anazi (Al Fateh) have arrived on free transfers.
The arrivals of Summerville, Watkins and Martinelli and the presence of eight other foreigners ( Yassine Bounou, Yusuf Akçiçek, Kalidou Koulibaly, Theo Hernandez, Rúben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Saïmon Bouabré and Kader Meïté ) threatened to leave Benzema without a roster spot in the Saudi League . He would only be allowed to take part in the Asian Champions League .
A complicated situation that could have an imminent solution . Al Hilal and Benzema are close to reaching an agreement to terminate the contract that binds them until next June 30 .
From there, the future of the 38-year-old French forward is a complete unknown. In principle, the former Real Madrid player has a contract with the Saudi League until 2030, which has fueled the possibility that he could sign for Al Shabab... or return to Al Ittihad.
Fabrizio Romano rules out his return to the Old Continent, including a comeback to Olympique Lyonnais, the club that launched him to fame and where he has always said he would like to return. "Benzema will soon announce his decision about his future; among the options are retirement or playing for another Saudi club . He will not return to Europe," emphasizes Fabrizio Romano.
Retirement is also a viable option. If he were to hang up his boots, he would leave behind 895 matches, 484 goals and 205 assists during his time at Olympique de Lyon (2004-09), Real Madrid (2009-23), Al Ittihad (2023-26) and Al Hilal (2026). In addition to 97 caps and 37 goals with France. A possible move to Major League Soccer (MLS) should not be ruled out either.
