Benzema At Odds With Al-Ittihad: French Star Facing Discipline

Karim Benzema, the former Ballon d’Or winner, finds himself in a difficult situation with Al-Ittihad. The player is reportedly unhappy with his decision to move to Saudi Arabia, and as a result, the club has chosen to hand out punishment. As the team flew to Dubai to prepare for their bout against Al-Taee, Benzema was noticeably absent, training alone in Jeddah due to a decision taken by the club’s manager, former River Plate manager, Marcelo Gallardo.

Tensions began when Benzema decided to leave Real Madrid at the end of 2023, without justifiably missing the last three training sessions with the team under his belt. This fall out was succeeded by a harsh defeat against Al-Nassr backed by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman then rejoined the group a week late, attributing his delay to a cyclone he encountered whilst on holiday with his family in Mauritius.

Despite all this, further afield in France, Lyon is quietly preparing behind the scenes, eyeing a potential reunion with the former star in the upcoming transfer window, a move that Benzema himself would favour.