Hours of suspense and definition are what the Saudi Arabian
transfer market is going through
less than 24 hours before its closing.
This time, it is not waiting to announce a new figure from Europe who was tempted by petrodollars, but rather the future of one of its greatest figures is in danger.
This is none other than
Karim Benzema
, who is not going through his best moment in
Al Ittihad
, the team led by
Marcelo Gallardo
.
The days of the French striker under the orders of Muñeco would be at an end.
What's more,
the relationship between the two has not been on the best terms since the beginning of the year
.
What would have led to putting an end to Benzema's stay at Al Ittihad would be his lack of commitment to the team, a factor that is well known since his stay at River, that Gallardo does not negotiate with any of the players. of the.
The star attacker did not appear for the preseason on January 12
along with the rest of his teammates and
Muñeco
automatically made the decision to separate him from the squad.
Beyond the fact that the footballer claimed that he did not manage to return on time from his vacation in Mauritius because he was trapped by a cyclone that prevented him from mobilizing, the coach did not change his mind and decided that
the team captain would train alone
. nor did he travel with the rest of the squad to the tune-up held in Dubai, waiting to resume official competitions once the Africa Cup ends.
However,
the novel still continues
.
The thing is that, based on the situation in which he finds himself, beyond having arrived at the club only six months ago, Benzema would not be completely comfortable in his club and would be looking for a way to find new challenges.
He locks?
That the transfer market in Arabia closes in 24 hours
and that the sheikhs who own the team do not want to part with him so easily after the money invested in his signing.
Benzema, wanting a change of scenery but with the clock as his greatest rival.
Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez.
In this way, in a purely time trial matter, only three possibilities are open to Benzema.
One of them is to seek his
return
to European football
.
Although the transfer market in the
Old Continent
closes on Thursday, which would give extra time to arrange the departure of the French star, several circumstances make the situation unfeasible.
In addition to no interested team appearing on the radar,
El Gato
would have no intention of giving up his very high salary
(approximately 200 million euros to be paid until 2026)
, nor would the directors of Al Ittihad agree to part with his services so easily.
Also added is the factor that the Saudi league itself, led by several sheikhs, would not authorize Benzema's departure to Europe so soon after his arrival because it would speak of a possible "failure" in the operational growth of football in the Middle East. East.
Under this context,
the chance opens up for the Frenchman to be transferred to another team in the Saudi league
on loan until the end of the season.
The candidate teams would be Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr or Neymar's Al Hilal.
However, for the attacker to continue playing in Saudi territory, there are only a couple of hours left to reach an agreement with another club.
Benzema would have a broken relationship with Gallardo and may no longer play for Al Ittihad.
Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh.
If he cannot agree to leave for any team, Benzema will be forced to continue wearing the Al Ittihad shirt, at least, until June.
Although, to do this, he must first fix his situation with Gallardo
.
Even the player did not take the time to apologize to his teammates for his absence in the preseason, a gesture that the
Doll
would be waiting for from him to be willing to include him in the team again.
Despite the weighty decision made by the coach,
Al Ittihad fans support the Argentine.
The thing is that they also exhausted their patience with the Real Madrid idol
.
To the point that, despite having scored 9 goals this season, they accused him of not meeting the club's expectations and led the player to close his social networks due to the flood of criticism he received.
Beyond the decision that Benzema finally makes, the novel necessarily goes through its last 24 hours.
If he continues in his current team, things may not be so easy for one of the greatest scorers in the world in recent years.