It’s finally happening. After weeks of rumours, it’s now official that Karim Benzema, one of the greatest football players alive today and former Esquire Middle East cover star (ahem), is leaving Real Madrid, and is expected to sign a gargantuan $429m offer from Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad.
Here’s why Karim Benzema is going to Al Ittihad
1. The money, obviously
So, why did this happen? Well, there’s about 429 million reasons. First of all, Benzema’s current salary with RM totals EUR 24,000,000, or about $25.7 million per year. Getting a salary bump of this size would be impossible for anyone to turn down.
2. Ties to the region
The Arab French football star is a practicing Muslim, and coming to Saudi Arabia would put him in the heart of the faith, and he would be hugely welcomed across the Arab world.
Plus, he’d have the chance to reunite with his old buddies at Esquire Middle East, what’s not to love?
3. The Cristiano Ronaldo effect
For a long time, while the Kingdom has welcomed many international stars to its storied clubs, it never had the huge global icon that turned eyes to the long-standing, hotly competitive league. That is until Cristiano Ronaldo himself transferred and made KSA the talk of the football world.
Now, in the eyes of the best players in the world, this is now a viable destination on par with anywhere in the world.
While we’re still awaiting the man himself to confirm it, it will be the most exciting thing to happen to the region, well, since Ronaldo announced he was coming.
And when we’re done celebrating, we can go back to getting things ready for Lionel Messi to come join the pair.