Early morning of June 7 (Vietnam time), Al Ittihad Club in Saudi Arabia officially announced the successful recruitment of striker Karim Benzema on a free transfer. Al Ittihad Club is also continuing to convince Chelsea's N'Golo Kanté.
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| Benzema (center) signed a contract with Al Ittihad. (Source: Al Ittihad) |
"Benzema, welcome to Al Ittihad," the new Saudi Pro League champions briefly announced on their homepage. Al Ittihad is expected to hold a ceremony to introduce Benzema to the new team in front of a crowd of fans tomorrow (June 8).
Benzema signed a three-year contract with Al Ittihad with an estimated income of up to 200 million Euros per season, including commercial promotion activities.
By joining Al Ittihad, Benzema will officially face off against his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is playing for Al Nassr. Last season, Ronaldo's team won the Pro League runner-up position. Al Nassr is 5 points behind the champions and Benzema's new team, Al Ittihad.
Benzema's recent Ballon d'Or win is one of the reasons he receives a high salary.
Benzema excitedly talks about his new club and a completely new football scene: "Al Ittihad is a new challenge for me".
"It's a good league and there are a lot of good players. Cristiano Ronaldo is here now, he shows that Saudi Arabia is developing very quickly.
I came here to win, like I did in European football."
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| Al-Ittihad are looking to convince midfielder N'Golo Kante to join them. (Source: InsideSport) |
After securing Benzema's signature, Al Ittihad continued to pursue another star, midfielder N'Golo Kanté.
According to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, if he joins Al Ittihad, Kante will receive up to 100 million Euros/year. The contract between Al Ittihad and Kante is expected to last until 2025.
The Saudi Arabian government is ambitious to attract many other famous football stars this summer such as Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Sergio Busquets and Sergio Ramos.
Saudi Arabia aims to create a quality tournament with the participation of top stars.
In addition, this country also wants to increase its influence in the king sport and increase its ability to compete for the right to host the 2030 World Cup.
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