From the primary group video that emerged after Karim Benzema arrived at Al Ittihad, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner did not look snug.
Sat alone in the back of the coach, Benzema awkwardly watched his teammates rhythmically serenade their new talisman. Regardless of the obvious discomfort, Benzema marked his debut with a luxurious profitable objective.
The honeymoon interval did not final lengthy. On the midway stage of the season, the reigning top-flight champions path table-topping Al Hilal by 25 factors. Benzema can boast as many league objectives (9) as ex-Barcelona misfit Malcom and 5 fewer than Tottenham Hotspur ‘hall-of-famer’ Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.
Consequently, Benzema is reported to be trying to find an escape route – though any switch might show advanced given the quite a few layers of forms that must sanction a transfer.
How did it come to this?
Throughout the 2022/23 marketing campaign, Benzema claimed the Ballon d’Or, whereas Aleksandar Mitrovic did not even win Fulham’s participant of the season. But, when the pair went head-to-head within the first Saudi Classico of the present marketing campaign, Mitrovic emerged with a victorious hat-trick.
Benzema discovered the online himself, deftly flicking past Al Hilal’s Yassine Bounou as Al Ittihad raced right into a 3-1 half-time lead. However the Tigers had no reply for the indefatigable visiting right-back Saud Abdulhamid, who swung the ball in for Mitrovic’s first two objectives.
The burly Serbian accomplished his treble with an equaliser from the penalty spot earlier than Salem Al Dawsari somersaulted throughout the pitch in celebration of his unlikely winner within the 71st minute. Al Ittihad led the league with out conceding a objective earlier than Al Hilal punctured Benzema’s shiny begin. They haven’t recovered since.
As Al Ittihad ready for his or her AFC Champions League opener towards Uzbekistan’s OKMK Olmaliq, Benzema confronted the media as ordinary. The Frenchman failed to say that he wouldn’t characteristic within the match. All through the season, Benzema has grimaced and groaned about varied niggling points. Throughout his final 12 months with Actual Madrid, the 36-year-old missed 15 video games as a result of health complaints.
Benzema was compelled to sit down out 5 consecutive matches with out Al Ittihad formally confirming the rationale for his absence as September bled into October. Then, simply as mysteriously as he stepped away, Benzema reappeared for the go to of an Al Ahli with Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez.
The Tigers did not lose as soon as throughout Benzema’s unexplained departure but didn’t win the primary 4 league video games of his return. After a 1-0 defeat to Al Ahli, Benzema opened the scoring towards high-flying Al Taawoun. But, inside 4 first-half minutes, Benzema inadvertently picked out his personal internet, flinching at a nook kick which skidded off his head and previous Marcelo Grohe.
Throughout this barren stretch, the reigning champions have been additionally held to a 2-2 draw by lowly Al Hazem, the aspect propping up the Saudi top-flight desk.
Past his battles with a brand new nation, membership and local weather, Benzema has needed to face up to unfounded accusations from point-scoring politicians again in France. After posting a message of solidarity to “the folks of Gaza” on social media because the Israel-Hamas battle unfolded in October, Benzema was singled out by French inside minister Gerald Darmanin.
“Benzema is notoriously linked with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Darmanin declared on French broadcaster CNews, “everyone knows it.” The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist motion that’s banned in a number of international locations, together with Benzema’s new residence Saudi Arabia.
Darmanin supplied no proof and Benzema has refuted the accusations, launching a authorized case towards the French politician in January. “I’m conscious of the extent to which, due to my notoriety, I’m being utilized in political video games,” Benzema noticed, “that are all of the extra scandalous provided that the dramatic occasions since 7 October deserve one thing fairly completely different from the sort of assertion.”
The primary sparkles of discontent between Benzema and Nuno Espirito Santo emerged as early as August. The present Nottingham Forest boss had led Al Ittihad to the membership’s first league title since 2009 however struggled to recapture that spark with a newly star-studded group.
Nuno dismissed these summer season stories of discontent as “bullsh*t” however was now not ready to defend his relationship with the Frenchman when rumours of a decisive dressing room spat emerged in November.
As Al Ittihad trailed Iraq’s Air Drive Membership 1-0 at half-time in a Champions League tie, Nuno allegedly took his ire out at Benzema. “You’re a nice participant, but it surely appears that you’re being lazy in placing strain on the opponent,” the supervisor instructed his captain, as reported by Saudi publication Arriyadiyah.
Benzema questioned why he was being singled out and Nuno defined: “You’re the group chief, the gamers’ position mannequin, and a very powerful participant in it. You will need to take the lead and be an instance for all of the gamers.”
Inside ten minutes of the restart, Al Ittihad conceded once more and limped to a shock defeat. Nuno was sacked the next day.
Al Ittihad earned a spot at this winter’s Membership World Cup because the reigning league champions of the host nation. But, earlier than the Tigers might arrange a glamour tie towards one of many South American or European giants, they fell by the hands of Egyptian outfit Al Ahly in entrance of their very own followers.
Benzema had the possibility to equalise for Al Ittihad, now underneath the stewardship of former River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo, within the first half solely to have his penalty brilliantly saved by Mohamed El Shenawy.
The Frenchman finally discovered the online however solely after 92 minutes had elapsed and along with his aspect already trailing by three objectives. That painful defeat would show to be the primary of three consecutive losses to see out the calendar 12 months, culminating in a 5-2 thrashing dished out by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
C’est plus comme avant ☄️ pic.twitter.com/bXAJ6EKD7n
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) November 19, 2023
Because the Saudi high flight took a mid-season break for the Asian Cup, Benzema jetted off to Mauritius on vacation. Preliminary stories recommended the participant was given some additional time without work by Gallardo earlier than the Argentine banned him fully from the group’s coaching camp in Dubai as he didn’t materialise.
90min understands that Benzema’s excuse for his delay, specifically a cyclone warning stopping any flights from the tropical island, was real. However, by the point Benzema returned to the membership, 17 days late, he carried out a “raging” assembly with supervisor Gallardo, per AFP.
Regardless of an prolonged keep on the seashore, Benzema claimed to be underneath an excessive amount of “strain” to ship his greatest performances for Al Ittihad. The Tigers are famed for his or her passionate fanbase and boast the third-highest common attendance within the Professional League (19,870) however Benzema is hardly unfamiliar with a demanding crowd after 14 years at Actual Madrid.
Lyon have distanced themselves from a transfer for his or her former participant, citing his exorbitant wages, however Benzema continues to be eagerly eyeing an exit, even on a “non permanent” foundation.
