When it happened, it happened fast. Real Madrid announced on Sunday morning that Karim Benzema was leaving and by the afternoon, he was playing his last game for the club, a 1-1 draw with Athletic Club in which he scored a penalty and was immediately substituted to receive the applause of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd.
Madrid have seen high-profile departures before as this era-defining team reaches the end of its cycle — Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, Sergio Ramos in 2021 and Casemiro and Marcelo in 2022 — but this felt even more jarring. Benzema, 35, is the reigning Ballon d’Or winner. He’s also the club captain and scored 354 goals for Madrid, more than Raul Gonzalez and Alfredo di Stefano and trailing only Ronaldo, way out in front on 451 goals. His record 25 trophies include five Champions Leagues.
And now, after 14 years, he leaves to join Saudi Arabia‘s Al Ittihad. He leaves those statistics, but more than that — Benzema was never really about the numbers — he leaves memories and moments, the work of a player who made football feel like art. Picture him dancing past three Atletico Madrid defenders in 2017, executing a perfect scissor kick against Ajax in 2012, or leading last season’s logic-defying comeback against Paris Saint-Germain.
A year since this Benzema hat-trick ⚽️⚽️⚽️@Benzema || #UCL pic.twitter.com/Ru8BHkoLi0
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 9, 2023
A player who arrived in Madrid as a shy, introverted 21-year-old — his goal-scoring potential even questioned by then-manager, Jose Mourinho — Benzema became the underrated fulcrum of one of the great Real Madrid sides, winning three consecutive Champions Leagues before stepping into the spotlight to become the main man, an ascent that culminated in the Ballon d’Or.
However, the 2022-23 season was a disappointment. Benzema finally began to show his age, and while those numbers were still good — including 19 goals in LaLiga — the feeling of effortless excellence, of being not just better than the rest but playing a different sport entirely, wasn’t there.
ESPN has spoken to sources close to Benzema and the club to better understand this last stage of his Real Madrid journey, from the career high of the Ballon d’Or to a difficult final season, the decision to accept the offer from Saudi Arabia and Madrid’s carefully laid succession plans for 2024 being turned upside down.
With added reporting from Julien Laurens and Rodrigo Faez.
For many players, lifting the Ballon d’Or would mark the beginning of a new, triumphant phase in their career. For Benzema, with hindsight, it looks like the beginning of the end. His 2021-22 season was so remarkable and so unlikely — scoring a career-best 27 league and 15 Champions League goals at the age of 34 — that perhaps a drop-off was inevitable. His body had been pushed to the limit, with 56 games for club and country during that campaign, so much so that Benzema is convinced, sources told ESPN, that the heavy workload had negative consequences in 2022-23.
The final two-year contract offer from Al Ittihad would be worth a staggering €400 million: €172m in wages, plus bonuses. Al Ittihad president Anmar Al-Haili and vice president Kaaki travelled to Madrid for further talks, hoping to conclude the deal in person.
Now it was time to tell Madrid, and in particular the club’s president Florentino Perez, who had always been Benzema’s biggest supporter.
There were two conversations with Perez, who did everything to persuade Benzema to stay. The first came on May 31, at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground. Benzema, his agent Djaziri, Perez and Juni Calafat, the club’s chief scout, were present. Benzema and Djaziri told Perez that the player’s mind was made up. Perez asked them to take a day to think it over.
They spoke again June 1, and the club learned Benzema had not changed his mind. Perez was angry, aware of what this meant for the club’s careful planning for next season. Coach Ancelotti was informed and, later that day, ESPN reported that Benzema had decided to leave. At the same time, journalists close to the club were briefed that the story was untrue, that Benzema’s contract extension until 2024 had already taken effect, and that he would not be leaving.
Awkwardly, Benzema was due to speak in public that evening as he collected a “Legend” award from the newspaper Marca. He did not want to confirm the news, preferring to wait for the weekend and Madrid’s final game of the season, and had an answer prepared for the inevitable question. “Why would I talk about my future, if I’m at Madrid?” he said. “It’s the internet talking. And reality isn’t the internet.” Meanwhile, even as Marca reported that Benzema would stay, the club were already preparing farewell videos for use when his departure was made public.
Benzema was at peace with his decision, sources told ESPN. He did not want to risk tarnishing his legacy with another underwhelming season and with this Madrid team already in transition, this was seen as the right time. He was happy, too, with his understated farewell at the Bernabeu on Sunday. There were no speeches or grand gestures, but Benzema played, scored and received his ovation.
Even at a low-key farewell event at Madrid’s training ground on Tuesday, Benzema spoke for just three minutes. He thanked Perez, Ancelotti and the fans, calling it “a sad day.”
“I’m leaving this club, and it hurts me,” Benzema said. “I had a dream to sign for Madrid and I wanted to finish [my career] at Madrid, but sometimes in life you get other opportunities.”
From here, his attention now turns to Saudi Arabia. Sources told ESPN that Benzema has already spoken to Al Ittihad coach Nuno Espirito Santo — formerly of Valencia, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur — to discuss the club’s sporting project. He will keep his house in Madrid, which he sees as his long-term home, and he hopes to keep winning trophies: the AFC Champions League, or the Club World Cup, where Al Ittihad could perhaps one day face Madrid.
