Top striker Benzema leaves Real Madrid after 14 years and 25 awards

Karim Benzema (35) is leaving after fourteen years at Real Madrid. The French striker has decided not to take advantage of a clause for an extra season in his contract with the Spanish top club.

On Tuesday, Real will wave goodbye to the striker with a special farewell meeting. It is not yet known if and where Benzema will continue his career, although he has recently been regularly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. His former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has also been playing there for the past six months.

According to Al Ekhbariya, the Saudi state broadcaster, Al Ittihad will be Benzema’s new club. Board members of that club are now said to be in Madrid to finalize the transfer.

Benzema was acquired by Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon at the age of 21. He played 647 games for the Spanish club, scoring a whopping 353 goals. Only Ronaldo (450) managed to score more often for the club.

With 25 prizes, Benzema may well be Real’s most successful player ever. The club describes him as “a fundamental player in the golden period of our history.” Five times Benzema won the Champions League with Real.

The highlight of Benzema’s career followed in 2022, when he was awarded the Golden Ball for the best player in the world. He led the team to victory in the Champions League that year with no fewer than fifteen goals and also took the national title.

This season was less successful for “the Royal”, winning only the Spanish Cup. The national title had to be left to rival FC Barcelona and in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Manchester City was far too strong (1-1 in Spain, 4-0 in England).

Tonight in the home game against Athletic Club (kickoff 6:30 p.m.), captain Benzema will play his last game in the white shirt. Real announced yesterday that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz are leaving the club.

Although Benzema was extremely successful at club level, his international career was much less brilliant. Due to an extortion case involving fellow international Mathieu Valbuena, he was not welcome in the French team for six years.

As a result, Benzema missed the 2018 World Cup won by France. Benzema missed last year’s World Cup in Qatar due to injury. France lost in the final to Argentina. A day after the World Cup final, Benzema announced his retirement as an international.