French Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema, leaving Real Madrid, has signed a three-year contract with Saudi club Al-Ittihad, based in Jeddah, Agence France-Presse learned on Tuesday from an internal source. at the club. “Benzema has signed a contract for his transfer to Al-Ittihad, for a period of three years,” the source said of the 35-year-old striker. The Frenchman played his last match for Real on Sunday after 14 seasons with the Madrid club.
This resounding arrival, for an as yet undisclosed but staggering amount, is part of the great Saudi offensive targeting the stars of European football, including the seven-time Ballon d’Or Léo Messi, the Argentine star who has just left Paris SG. .
Like Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, Benzema will be the overwhelming star of a squad featuring Egyptian internationals Ahmed Hegazy and Angolan Helder Costa, trained by the former manager of FC Porto or Tottenham, the Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo. But other high-profile teammates could arrive as the kingdom, criticized for human rights abuses, is determined to use football to improve its international image and has petrodollars galore to fulfill its ambitions.
