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Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema moved to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023. He followed the footsteps of his former Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who had made a move to the Saudi Pro League in January 2023 after joining Al Nassr. Since joining Al-Ittihad almost two years ago, the Frenchman has played 51 games, scoring 31 goals and giving 15 assists across all competitions. His current suitors; Al-Ittihad are league leaders and Benzema is the third highest goal-scorer in the league so far with 16 goals, just behind Ronaldo and Ivan Toney.
In recent statements given by Karim Benzema, he revealed why he left Real Madrid to move to Saudi. He mentioned the fact that he wanted to end his stint at Madrid at the top of his game and hence left on a high. He also said, “And I didn’t want to ever play against Real Madrid in my life”, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Florentino Perez was the first person I called when I decided to leave Madrid: Benzema
Karim Benzema’s decision to move away from Madrid was quite a shocker for Real Madrid and football fans in general. Benzema mentioned how the Madrid President Florentino Perez was the first person he had called when he had decided to leave Madrid. He said, “He didn’t quite understand…I told him that the young stars Vinicius and Rodrygo were ready”, referring to the fact that he was already 35 at that time.
Benzema has had a fantastic career at Real Madrid having spent almost 14 years with the Galacticos. The striker played 648 games with Los Blancos, scoring 354 goals. During his tenure, he won five Champions League titles, four LaLiga and many other domestic cups. He also won a Ballon d’Or in 2022 while playing for Real Madrid.
