In recent days, there has been plenty of speculation surrounding Karim Benzema, who has had a difficult few months in Saudi Arabia. Having joined Al-Ittihad from Real Madrid last summer, the Frenchman has failed to live up to expectations, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Aleksander Mitrovic having vastly outperformed him.
Benzema’s struggles have somewhat been his own making, as he has missed several training sessions without reason. This has led to Al-Ittihad head coach Marcelo Gallardo excluding him from the team’s upcoming “mini-break” in Dubai.
Perhaps unsurprisingly due to Benzema’s struggles, he has been linked with a return to Europe. Fichajes have claimed that three teams would like to sign the 36-year-old if he does depart Al-Ittihad this month: Real Madrid, Manchester United and Lyon.
Benzema spent 14 trophy-laden years at Los Blancos, and ended his spell there at probably the right time, given the injury struggles that he suffered with during his final campaign in the Spanish capital. In the end, he wasn’t replaced by club bosses, with only Joselu Mato having been signed to reinforcement the forward line.
Despite this, Real Madrid really haven’t struggled for goals this season. In La Liga alone, they have amassed 40 across 19 games, which makes them second-top scorers in the league (behind Girona, 46). Jude Bellingham has been the main man in this regard – his 13 goals means that he currently leads the race for the Pichichi. However, Rodrygo, Brahim Diaz and Joselu have also contributed effectively on the goal front.
On the evidence of this, Benzema simply isn’t needed at Real Madrid, although he would be a good player to have in the big games, such as El Clasico and the later rounds of the Champions League. Still, it’s not essential, and Los Blancos have so many big players for the big occasion, like Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.
On top of all this, re-signing Benzema does not fit in with Florentino Perez’s ideology for Real Madrid. He tends to get rid of players before the end of their careers, as was the case with Benzema himself when he left last summer. Him coming back would be a rather peculiar move when considering this.
There’s no doubt that Benzema can still be a great striker, even for a team like Real Madrid. However, it comes down to the fact that he just is not needed by Carlo Ancelotti, whose attacking options are already outstanding.
