Real Madrid News
Al Ittihad player drops massive hint about Benzema’s Real Madrid exit: “We are very excited”
According to reports, Karim Benzema has complete freedom to choose a club and city of his choice if he moves to Saudi Arabia. The Frenchman is on the verge of announcing his exit from Real Madrid, with Al Ittihad very close to signing him.
One of the contenders that has emerged as a prime option in recent hours is Al-Ittihad. As revealed by Al Ittihad aggregator Itti Mania, the Saudi-based club’s player Helder Costa openly spoke about the possibility of Karim Benzema joining and even went on to indirectly confirm the move.
“We are very excited about the arrival of the Balon d’Or winner (Benzema).”
Further, a fan of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side showed an edit of Benzema donning the club’s yellow-and-black colours during their title celebrations earlier this week.
Image: An Al-Ittihad fan showed a Karim Benzema edit on the big screen during their title celebrations. pic.twitter.com/UY28bbMGAc
— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) May 31, 2023
Al-Ittihad currently sit atop the Saudi Professional League standings with 69 points in 29 games. They are five points above second-placed Al-Nassr, and with one game to go, already have the title in their bag.
The Saudi-based team has scored 58 goals and conceded just 13 in their campaign so far and has even qualified for the AFC Champions League. If Benzema is to join the club next season, he could well make them the favourites to lift the continental championship.
With Benzema’s announcement imminent, officials hope to complete his move to the Saudi league as early as tomorrow. The veteran will still have the luxury to opt for a destination of his choice, but Al-Ittihad’s open flirting with Benzema could imply that he has already made his pick.
In 23 La Liga appearances for Los Blancos this season, the Frenchman has scored 18 goals and provided three assists.
There just does not appear to be any respite from injuries for Real Madrid.
Just when it appeared that they were close to having their full squad – barring the two long-term absentees – the Merengues have been struck down by fresh injuries this week.
Arda Guler, who was on the cusp of being named in the squad for the Las Palmas clash, injured himself in training on Tuesday.
And now, during the game against Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid have lost key defender David Alaba to an injury.
Close to the 40th-minute mark, Alaba went down on the ground clutching his leg and appeared to be in quite a bit of discomfort.
Soon enough, the medical staff arrived to take a look at the Austrian and seconds later he was off the pitch and straight towards the tunnel.
Lucas Vazquez came on to replace the injured Alaba, with Nacho Fernandez moving into the centre-back position alongside Antonio Rudiger.
Alaba’s injury leaves Carlo Ancelotti with just two fit centre-backs in Rudiger and Nacho, which is set to be a matter of great concern.
The hope will be that Alaba’s condition is nothing serious and that he is able to mount a quick recovery.
