Football: under “pressure” at Al-Ittihad, Karim Benzema asked to leave his club

Under “pressure” at Al-Ittihad, Karim Benzema asked to leave his club. MAXPPP – Alexandre Neto

French striker Karim Benzema, feeling under "pressure" in Al-Ittihad, asked to leave "temporarily" the club, which offered him a loan to another team in the Saudi championship, reported AFP according to a source close to the club.

The option of a move to another Saudi club was refused by the player, who feels "unable to give the best of himself to Al-Ittihad because of the pressure& ;quot;, specified the same source, who added that the player favors a loan in Europe.

Contacted by AFP, the Frenchman's entourage, under contract until 2026, did not wish to confirm this information.< /p>

Also read: "It's bordering on obscurantism" : Karim Benzema filed a complaint against Eric Zemmour for defamation

The former Real Madrid player, aged 36 and under fire for his poor performance at his new club, went on leave more than three weeks ago after deactivating his Instagram account, followed by 76 million people. He returned to Jeddah last Thursday 17 days late.

Karim Benzema trains alone

Friday, a "very lively" and "stormy" on the future of the Ballon d'Or 2022 was held between the club's board of directors, coach Marcel Gallardo and Karim Benzema, said Tuesday the source.

Since his return on Thursday, the Frenchman has been training "alone" in Jeddah and did not join his teammates currently on training in Dubai, "for disciplinary reasons".

"There is no option for Benzema to leave this month", however, indicated a source close to the Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF).< /p>

Karim Benzema porte plainte contre Gérald Darmanin, qui l’a accusé de liens avec les Frères musulmans https://t.co/jxZhe2Kk1x

— Le Monde (@lemondefr) January 16, 2024

This season, Karim Benzema has scored 9 goals and 5 assists, far behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 20 goals and 9 assists with Al-Nassr.

Al-Ittihad, 7th in the Saudi Pro League after three consecutive defeats, is the team which has conceded the most goals in the league and which has scored the fewest among the four teams acquired by the wealthy Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF).

The championship is scheduled to resume on February 7.