Karim Benzema immediately removed from Al-Ittihad selection
Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 11:44 PM
Marcelo Gallardo has expelled Karim Benzema from the Al-Ittihad selection, Marca reported on Saturday evening. The coach of the Saudi club is not happy with the efforts of the French striker and has decided to immediately remove him from the selection. Benzema should have joined last Friday to prepare for the restart of the season, but he did not show up. Gallardo does not take half measures.
According to various Saudi media, the Al-Ittihad captain was already missing from some training sessions in the final phase of the last calendar year, and now Benzema was also conspicuous by his absence from the opening training of 2024.
Gallardo is not amused and has decided not to take Benzema with him on the planned training camp to the United Arab Emirates. According to the Spanish medium, the top striker had not once been given permission to be absent.
It is currently unclear when Benzema will return to the selection. According to reports, the Frenchman is ‘very unhappy’ in Saudi Arabia and it therefore seems possible that he wants to force a departure.
While Cristiano Ronaldo has already scored twenty goals in eighteen league games, Benzema has ‘only’ managed to score nine times in fifteen appearances. His apparent crisis of form and injuries would really hinder him.
The single winner of the Ballon d’Or is regularly jeered by the home crowd and in Spain the media report that he would prefer to return to Europe as soon as possible. In addition, Benzema (temporarily) deleted his Instagram to no longer receive online hate messages.
Al-Ittihad currently occupies a disappointing seventh place in the Saudi Pro League, in which leader Al-Hilal, whose contract includes Neymar, enjoys a 25-point lead over the team of Benzema and associates.
2024-01-13 22:44:00
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