Karim Benzema (France), the leading striker of Real Madrid, a prestigious Spanish professional football team, wears the Saudi Arabian professional football team Ali Itihad.
Al Ittihad officially announced the contract with Benzema through the club’s official website on the 7th. Al Ittihad stated that “the term of his contract is until 2026,” but did not disclose specific salary or other details.스포츠토토
In this regard, ESPN, an American sports media outlet, said, “Benzema has been offered a condition of 400 million euros (approximately 555.6 billion won) for two years from Altihad.”
Benzema is the second big player to head to the Saudi Arabia League after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nasr in January this year. It is known that Ronaldo’s annual salary is 200 million euros (approximately 277.8 billion won), similar to that of Benzema.
Benzema is the best striker who won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious award in men’s football last year. After making his professional debut in 2004 in Lyon, France, he moved to Real Madrid in 2009 and has played exclusively for Real Madrid. Even in his last season, he showed off his strength by scoring a total of 31 goals, including 19 regular league goals, as a member of Real Madrid. He also scored 37 goals in 97 matches for the French national team.
Al Ittihad, where Benzema joined, is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second largest city and economic center. It is the current strongest team that won the league championship in the 2022-23 season by overtaking Al Nasr, led by Ronaldo. Nuno Espirito Santo (Portugal), who led Tottenham in the English Premier League in the past, is taking the helm.
In January of this year, Ronaldo joined Al Nasr for an annual salary of about 200 million euros (about 270 billion won).
Saudi Arabia, which has recently strategically increased the size of its professional football league, is trying to recruit world-class star players such as Ronaldo and Benzema, as well as Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) and Luka Modric (Real Madrid), with its mighty oil money.