You could assume that Karim Benzema‘s stint at Al Ittihad wasn’t that bad until his rebellion. The Frenchman scored 12 goals and 5 assists in 20 games this season. But his threat of leaving the club and not training led to repercussions. The situation has gotten into a bigger tangle after speculation about his interest in returning to Los Blancos circulated. However, it was Benzema’s brother who clarified it as “fake news,” as per Fabrizio Romano. Real Madrid has not had a #9 since Karim Benzema left. This led the media to speculate on an eye-grabbing situation.

The reports suggested that Florentino Perez opposed the idea of Benzema coming back to Santiago Bernabeu, despite Carlo Ancelotti being open. The report read, “Carlo Ancelotti would be open to Benzema’s return to Real Madrid, but Florentino Perez said no.” A few reports also suggested that the soccer star was offering himself out, because he was unhappy in Saudi Arabia. But that was not it.

Karim Benzema dismisses rumors about returning to Europe

Real Madrid was not the only club to be linked to the Al Ittihad striker. His first club, Olympique Lyon, claimed to show interest in him, along with Chelsea and Manchester United. However, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner dismissed it, saying, “It’s completely false! The French media don’t know what to invent any more. The bigger, the better.”

Nevertheless, his position is still unclear. Karim Benzema was dropped from the club’s practice tour to Dubai by the new manager, Marcelo Gallardo. His absence without informing led the Argentine coach to sideline him, despite his return.

It was a humiliating 2-5 loss against former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo that led to Karim Benzema’s retaliation. The 5x Champions League winner threatened to leave, making demands for a squad upgrade. The league is currently under a break due to the AFC Asian Cup and will have time until February 5th to sort out the issue. Players like Abderrazak Hamdallah and Romarinho can be alternate options as forwards, with whom they won the league last season.

READ MORE – Al Nassr’s Aymeric Laporte Denies Statements on Players Being ‘Unhappy’ in Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile, this season has been a disaster, as the club is placed 7th in the league. Al Ittihad was leading the RSL until their match against Al Fahya, which then got rescheduled, disrupting their momentum. On the whole, it will be interesting to see if the club and Karim Benzema will make the compromise to salvage the rest of the season.

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