Ballon d’Or winner Benzema considering Saudi exit – sources،
Karim Benzema is exploring his options in the January transfer window after a disappointing six months at Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad, sources have told ESPN.
The 36-year-old striker is unhappy with how his time in Saudi Arabia is going so far, despite the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner having scored 15 goals in 24 games in all competitions since he joined the lucrative league as a free agent. .
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The club are reportedly reluctant to let their prized summer acquisition leave, whether on loan or on a permanent deal.
However, Jordan Henderson, another Saudi Pro League signing, is an example of a player who managed to negotiate a release from his contract – in his case, with Al Ettifaq – to force a move away from the Gulf state .
Al Ittihad have struggled this season and are seventh in the table, 25 points behind leaders Al Hilal who won the title last season. Benzema, who has two and a half years left on his contract, has been criticized by the Saudi media for his performances.
Sources have told ESPN that the Premier League could be an option for Benzema, with several clubs including Chelsea expressing interest in the veteran striker.
A return to Real Madrid, where the former French international spent 14 years, is not considered a possible solution.
Benzema is still stuck in Mauritius after tropical cyclone Belal hit the region and halted all flights in and out of the island. Al Ittihad are in training camp in Dubai, and Benzema will join the team and manager Marcelo Gallardo as soon as he is able.
Earlier this week, Benzema filed a defamation suit against French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who accused the star of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Darmanin said in October that Benzema had “a notorious connection” to the Muslim Brotherhood – a pan-Arab Islamist group that came to power in Egypt following elections a year after the 2011 popular uprising – because Benzema had posted a message from Online support for the Muslim Brotherhood. the population of Gaza at the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
In his complaint filed Monday before the Court of Justice of the Republic, Benzema firmly denied any link with the Muslim Brotherhood or with any member of the organization. The CJR is a special court for cases involving government ministers.
“[Despite this] “The Minister of the Interior does not hesitate to drag my name through the mud for non-existent links with this organization,” Benzema said in his complaint, adding that he had been presented as being “close to the enemy or directly an enemy” and that this was an attack on his honor.
Benzema's lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told RTL radio on Tuesday that Benzema, who is Muslim, had been the victim of “political exploitation” with far-reaching consequences for his family.
Reporting from James Olley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
