Benzema may QUIT Real Madrid for Saudi Arabia

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 31 May 2023 07:22 BST
• 3 min read

Karim Benzema could become the latest superstar to swap Europe for Saudi Arabia, with the Real Madrid captain reportedly weighing up a bumper offer from Al-Hilal.

The 35-year-old France striker is said to have agreed a one-year extension to keep him at the Bernabeu until the end of next season, but that doesn’t seem to have deterred the record 18-time champions of Saudi Arabia from plotting an audacious swoop.

Cristiano Ronaldo – the only player to have scored more goals for Real than Benzema – has already been lured by the riches of the Saudi Pro League, while Lionel Messi has been strongly linked with a move to the Gulf state when his PSG contract expires next month.

READ: Real Madrid's transfer plans involve Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland

According to the Independent, Benzema is ‘seriously considering’ a package from Al-Hilal worth €100m a year.

That said, Ronaldo is reported to be earning double that amount at Al-Nassr – who he joined at the beginning of this year, having had his Manchester United contract terminated last November.

Even that is a drop in the ocean compared to the €600m Messi could take home annually were he to join Al-Hilal.

READ: Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid presentation date SET

Will Benzema bid the Bernabeu goodbye?

There is an ongoing push to make the Saudi Pro League the destination of choice for veteran superstars from Europe’s top five leagues as they look to wind down their careers – and it's not out of the question that Benzema is about to transition into that phase of his playing journey.

Benzema joined Real Madrid from Lyon back in 2009 and has aged like the finest of wines, enjoying his best ever goalscoring season in 2021/22 – when he found the net 44 times en route to winning a fourth LaLiga title and fifth Champions League.

His exploits earned him his first Ballon d’Or last year, when he beat the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah to the game’s ultimate individual accolade.