Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid after 14 years at the end of the season, the Spanish club confirmed on Sunday.
This week, there has been a lot of talk about the 35-year-old forward moving to Saudi Arabia for a big pay rise.
“Real Madrid and our captain Karim Benzema have agreed to put an end to his brilliant and unforgettable era as a player at our club,” said Los Blancos in a statement.
“Madrid want to show their gratitude and all their love to someone who is one of our greatest legends.”
Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, said Saturday that there was “no doubt” that Benzema would stay at Madrid for the rest of his career. He said this because the forward had one more year left on his contract.
And Benzema himself said, “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet,” after news came out that he might move to Saudi Arabia, where he was born.
In 2009, the French forward moved from Ligue 1 team Lyon to Madrid.
Benzema was a key player in the famous “BBC” attacking trio with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. When the Portuguese striker left the team in 2018, Benzema became the team’s leader.
Benzema has won 24 trophies with Real Madrid, including five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles, and three Copas del Rey. He is also the current owner of the Ballon d’Or, which is given to the best player in the world.
He has scored 353 goals for Real Madrid, which is second only to Ronaldo’s 450 goals.
When Madrid plays Athletic Bilbao in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu later today, it could be Benzema’s last game for the club.
Madrid announced on Saturday that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio, and Mariano Diaz will also be leaving this summer. This will make room for a lot of new attackers to join the team.
Ancelotti didn’t talk about Madrid’s rumoured interest in Tottenham striker Harry Kane on Saturday.
“I’m not going to talk about the future of the squad that is in place,” said Ancelotti.
“Kane is a great player, he is a Tottenham player, we have to respect the player and Tottenham.”
Photo by EPA/Rodrigo Jimenez
