Karim Benzema (35) leaves for Saudi Arabia – why is he leaving Madrid?

Star striker Karim Benzema has signed a three-year contract with the club Al-Ittihad. And he will become a football ambassador for the Gulf state.

Star striker Karim Benzema has been seen off at Real Madrid. Very emotional and in Spanish, he wanted to say “thank you very sincerely”. Benzema actually wanted to end his career in Madrid – with the royals he has won a record 25 titles and scored 354 goals since 2009. Benzema has also captained Real Madrid since 2021.

Benzema now plays for Al-Ittihad

The 35-year-old Frenchman is off to Saudi Arabia. At the club Al-Ittihad in Jeddah, the country’s most important port city in the province of Mecca, Benzema is to earn 200 million euros a year – tax-free.

He has signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabia’s current champions.

International Strategy of Saudi Arabia

According to Forecasting, part of Saudi Arabia’s new strategy is to fill each of their top clubs with an international star. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo already plays for Al-Nassr.

Now Karim Benzema is also becoming the football ambassador for Saudi Arabia, which wants to organise the 2030 World Cup.

The man with the nickname KB9 was born in Lyon in 1987. His grandfather had left Algeria in the 1950s.