Al Ittihad are on the hunt for a new manager after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked, reportedly due to a bust-up with star summer signing Karim Benzema.
The Portuguese manager has ultimately failed to get results early in his tenure, and following a loss to Iraqi side Al Quwa in the Asian Champions League, Nuno was given his marching orders. Al Ittihad are sixth in their domestic league, with 12 points from 11 games.
Benzema was one of the first major names to head to Saudi Arabia, and Al Ittihad spent big to bring in Fabinho, Ngolo Kante and Luiz Felipe. One of the key factors in Nuno’s exit was Benzema’s testimony though.
The former French international spoke with the Al Ittihad hierarchy in recent weeks, and recommended that Nuno be sacked in order to improve results, but the final straw was an argument between the two at half-time during the Al Quwa defeat.
With his side losing 1-0, Nuno asked for more from his star striker, as per Cadena SER.
“You are a great player, but it seems that you are too lazy to press the opponent.”
“Don’t just talk to me, talk to the whole group,” Benzema gave as a retort.
“You are the leader of the team, the example for the players and the most important athlete. You must take the initiative and be an example for all the players,” With Benzema neglecting to respond, Nuno called him ‘lazy’.
It is not the first time Benzema has had issues with managers, with French coach Didier Deschamps refusing to call him up for Les Bleus for eight years, after he helped to blackmail Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape. Upon recalling him in 2020, Benzema would then end up falling out with Deschamps in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup two years down the line, resulting in Benzema’s retirement.
