Real Madrid News
Real Madrid superstar will renew his contract by one year – report
Karim Benzema took the football world by storm last year, accomplishing personal milestones, leading Real Madrid to the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles and eventually winning the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
He scored 27 goals and provided 12 assists in La Liga in addition to 17 goal contributions in the Champions League during the season.
However, his start to the 2022/23 season has been marred with injuries. Despite his struggle for regular action, the Frenchman has already netted eleven times and provided three assists in just 13 league games.
Real Madrid have no direct replacement for Benzema yet, and the Frenchman is their primary source of goals. That said, it was a matter of concern that the striker’s contract was running out in June.
According to reports from Radio Marca, Benzema will renew his deal with Los Blancos for one more season. His decision comes after a recent meeting and discussion with Florentino Perez.
Given the club’s policy of only offering short-term renewals, one can expect the 35-year-old to sign for one additional year with an option to extend. However, his role next season could be cut down especially if Ancelotti sees his wish for a new and young striker granted.
Earlier this week, Carlo Ancelotti revealed that he would like for Benzema to end his career in Madrid, thus urging the forward to continue at Real Madrid.
“Has Benzema renewed? I don’t know. But I repeat: Real Madrid legends must retire at Real Madrid.”
While Benzema’s renewal may be sealed, there is still a mountain load of work on that front for the Merengues’ administration. Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Marco Asensio, Nacho Fernandez, and Dani Ceballos all have their deals running out in the summer and a decision over their future must be taken swiftly.
Marco Asensio is fighting for his future at Real Madrid. The 27-year-old winger is out of contract at the end of the season and there is no concrete decision made by the club over his renewal as of yet.
Some reports had suggested that the club had tabled an offer worth €4 million per year, which the Spaniard did not like as he sought a higher pay packet closer to around €6 million-a-year.
With his future a subject of intense speculation, Asensio had been linked with a move away to Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, closer to home, there were strong links to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Indeed, the Catalans have been touted as potential suitors for Asensio for quite some time now due to the fact that he is represented by Jorge Mendes.
The superagent has close ties with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and reports in Spain have suggested that the Real Madrid winger has, indeed, been offered to the current La Liga leaders.
Amidst these speculations, however, Asensio has seemingly made it clear as to where his heart lies as he awaits a decision on his future.
During last night’s El Clasico against Barcelona, the Real Madrid winger came on as a substitute and went on to score a goal, following which he celebrated at Camp Nou, pointing to the Real Madrid logo on his shirt, showing where his allegiances lie.
The goal, however, was disallowed by the VAR, and Los Blancos ended up losing the game 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Franck Kessie.
Earlier today, Asensio took to Instagram and posted a picture of him celebrating with his finger pointing to the Real Madrid logo, reiterating his commitment to the club amidst the links to Barcelona.
As for his disallowed goal, it sparked an angry reaction from Carlo Ancelotti, who questioned the legitimacy of the decision made by the VAR during his post-match press conference.
