Mentioned for several days, the signing of Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia is official. The 2022 Golden Ball will take place on March 6, with the Al-Ittihad club, located in Jeddah, the country’s second city for a 3-year contract. At 35, the French striker grabbed the financial gold bridge offered by the Saudi championship, a few months after his former teammate at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema ended 14 years with the Merengues on Sunday.

For the French international, this departure for the Arab peninsula is a big financial blow according to the state television channel Al-Ekhbariya, which evokes a « record » salary. Saudi Arabia and its local championship, the Saudi Pro League, are trying to develop at high speed thanks to juicy financial offers to big names in (Site notre bureau spécialisé). At Al-Ittihad, Karim Benzema will also have the opportunity to add to his record as he joins the defending champion, who will also play in the Asian Champions League.

After a good year in 2022 which saw him postpone a fifth Champions League, Karim Benzema experienced a slightly more difficult 2022-2023 exercise, between physical problems and less flashy results with Real Madrid (2nd in the Spanish championship, eliminated in the C1 semi-finals).