5 months ago
22 Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema could be one to watch in this summer’s transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano as he provides an update on the veteran Frenchman’s future.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that there has been speculation over Benzema’s future for some time, though nothing has been decided on the 36-year-old yet.
Talks will apparently take place soon between Benzema’s camp and Al Ittihad before deciding on a possible move away from the Saudi Pro League club, so it may be that this will be one to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.
Benzema became one of many big names to leave Europe for Saudi Arabia in the last year or so, and it will be interesting to see if his stay there ends up being a short one.
Benzema transfer update from Fabrizio Romano
Karim Benzema to leave Al Ittihad?Discussing Benzema’s situation, Romano said: “One player to watch in Saudi, however, could be Karim Benzema. We already had rumours about him possibly moving on in January, and my understanding now is that Benzema’s camp will discuss with Al Ittihad as soon as they know the summer project – signings, what’s the plan with the manager, many things to decide. Nothing will be decided for Benzema before understanding what happens at Ittihad.”
It seems one player who is staying in Saudi, though, is Cristiano Ronaldo, with Romano playing down transfer rumours linking him with Bayer Leverkusen.

“We’ve also had some interesting rumours about Ronaldo and Bayer Leverkusen because of his strong relationship with Xabi Alonso. They are good friends, but no – Leverkusen are not working on this deal, no one is working on signing Ronaldo because he is very happy at Al Nassr and is not planning to change,” Romano said.
“Leverkusen also have completely different plans, so it’s not true that they’re preparing a bid for Ronaldo. That’s all there is to say on that – Ronaldo is super happy in Saudi and so he’s staying there.”
