Weekly Summary, 1.6 (Sport 1)
Across Europe, Karim Benzema has already come to terms with Karim Benzema's departure from Real Madrid, there were even reports on Thursday that he would hold a press conference within a few hours and announce his departure from the Blancos after no less than 14 seasons for Al Ittihad's big money from Saudi Arabia. However, in complete contrast to all of the above, Benzema appeared last night at a ceremony on behalf of the Marche media outlet in which he said that there was no truth in the reports about his decision to leave.
"What do I have to say to the fans?? I have nothing to say and nothing to talk about, what am I supposed to say? People write things online, but that's not reality," Benzema claimed into the microphone when asked about his future. It's also no coincidence that a short hour later, Marca's website read the headline "Benzema stays."
Wants to say goodbye with a major title from the white uniform (Photo: Reuters)
So what led to reports of Saudi Arabia's big-money departure quickly turning to the 35-year-old Frenchman parting ways with Real Madrid only when his contract expires next year? According to Marca, the striker never thought about leaving Real Madrid this summer and no one at the club has spoken about it.
"The fact is that Benzema remains," Marca wrote, "he will stay until the end of his contract next summer to the satisfaction of both sides. The relationship between Benzema and Real Madrid is great, everything is fine in the relations between the sides." It added that Benzema had indeed received a huge offer from the Saudis, thanked them for the very generous offer and made it clear that he greatly appreciated the appeal to him and the astronomical sums offered, but made it clear that he wanted to leave Real Madrid after many years only from the front door.
Real Madrid failed to win the title this season and were eliminated from the Champions League by Manchester City in the semi-finals, so Benzema did not want to leave as he won only the Copa del Rey in his final season. Moreover, it has been claimed that he strongly believes that next season will be a much more successful season and that he can leave with a more significant title in his final year with the team, Olle will even win a second career Ballon d'Or after doing so for the first time last October.
Despite all this, Marca have made it clear that the possibility of him playing in Saudi Arabia certainly exists despite his refusal, but such a move will not happen before the end of the 2023/24 season, when he also becomes a free agent.
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- World Football
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- Real Madrid
- Karim Benzema
