Karim Benzema shocked many at the end of last season when he chose to leave Real Madrid in order to begin a new chapter in Saudi Arabia. He joined Al-Ittihad, becoming the first high-profile name since Cristiano Ronaldo to make the move to the Middle East.
However, his first six months have been far from ideal. Al-Ittihad have massively underperformed on all fronts, and Benzema has taken plenty of slack from fans and the media because of this. His own performances have suffered too, which has led to personal problems.
Because of all this, Benzema has now requested to leave Al-Ittihad for the rest of the season, as per AFP (via Diario AS). The Saudi club are open to letting him go, and have even offered him to another club in the Saudi Pro League.
For now, it looks like Benzema is prioritising a return to Europe. He has held talks with former club Lyon, while a Premier League move has also been touted. One thing for certain is that he won’t be heading back to Real Madrid, where he had spent the last 14 years before the move last summer.
