It is the third club of his career, after debuting at Lyon and an advent at Real Madrid. Starting Sunday from the Spanish capital on a 354th goal, Karim Benzema has, according to information from AFP, committed for three years with the formation of Al-Ittihad, in Saudi Arabia. A total salary of 400 million euros in total had been mentioned in recent days for a two-year contract to evolve within this team based in Jeddah, a coastal city on the Red Sea.
Located less than 100 kilometers from Mecca, a sacred city of Islam, it is known for hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix, the last edition of which took place in March. But it is also home to the Al-Ittihad club, one of the best in Saudi Arabia where the French centre-forward, who retired internationally after the World Cup in Qatar missed by injury, will have the opportunity to enrich his record.
This team won the last edition of the Saudi championship, completed at the end of May, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, based in the capital Riyadh. It had also dominated (3-1) the Portuguese team in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup at the end of January, trophy also won by Al-Ittihad.
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Karim Benzema will be the only real player known in Europe of this team, managed by former Tottenham coach Nuno Espirito Santo since July 2022. The former Madrid star will rub shoulders with many local players, but also foreigners such as Moroccan Abderrazak Hamed-Allah. The latter, who entered the World Cup semi-final against Les Bleus, could form an attacking duo with "KB9".
Two Asian Champions Leagues in the list
Al-Ittihad also counts Brazilians Igor Coronado and Bruno Henrique, who have both played in Europe, as well as Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazy, who has 78 caps for his national team. Former Monegasque and Angolan international Helder Costa was also on loan this season.
But the club, which plays at the 62,000-seat King Abdullah Stadium, is also known in Saudi Arabia for winning the Asian Champions League twice in a row, in 2004 and 2005. It became the second club from the Wahhabi monarchy to win the continental competition, after Al-Hilal, another Riyadh team.
Since then, other well-known figures of French football have passed there, such as Bruno Metsu or Vahid Halilhodzic on the bench, or the late former midfielder of PSG and OM Modeste Mbami as well as the ex-Sochalien Jaouad Zaïri. Karim Benzema now completes this list. A presence still unlikely a few days ago.