Explained: Why Karim Benzema left Real Madrid & followed Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League a matter of months after winning the Ballon d’Or

The French striker was named the best player on the planet in October 2022, but had packed his bags at Santiago Bernabeu and bid farewell to European football by June 2023. Benzema had spent 14 memorable years in Madrid – scoring 354 goals while claiming four La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns.

He opted to follow former Blancos team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo to the Middle East when linking up with Al-Ittihad and has told the Saudi Pro League’s official media of making that switch: “With everything I’ve made and gained with Real Madrid, I think it was for me the good moment to try a new challenge. And for a really long time, even before football, I always wanted to come here. And the football project came in. It was a project that was just starting to burst from everywhere, so on my side I really wanted to be part of the story. I really wanted to help Saudi football grow.”

Benzema is convinced that he made the right career move at 35 years of age and has been pleasantly surprised by the standard of football in a region that has often been overlooked by those in Europe. He added: “I feel the love of the people here, so obviously that makes me happy and I try to return that love on the pitch. There is a lot of passion, there is history behind that. There are the fans and everything that goes with that. I’m really surprised and pleased about the level of the game here, really surprised because in Europe we don’t watch much football from here – nowadays we are watching more and more because of the big names they signed.”

Benzema has hit six goals through 11 appearances for Al-Ittihad this season, after shaking off an injury problem, and is hoping to help his current club defend their domestic title amid mounting competition from rivals that now boast star-studded squads of their own.