Karim Benzema leaves Real Madrid after 14 years at club

Madrid: Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid as a free agent in the close season after 14 trophy-laden years, the LaLiga club said on Sunday, with the striker set to move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad.

"Real Madrid and our captain Karim Benzema have agreed to put an end to his brilliant and unforgettable era as a player at our club," said Los Blancos in a statement.

Saudi Arabia's state-run Al Ekhbariya television station reported that Al Ittihad had reached an agreement with Benzema on a two-year contract, with club officials in Madrid to hammer out a "record deal" with the striker.

The 35-year-old Frenchman had looked set to stay at the Spanish club for one more year after a 2022-23 season in which he struggled with injuries and missed out on France's World Cup campaign in Qatar due to another injury.

"Madrid want to show their gratitude and all their love to someone who is one of our greatest legends."

The announcement comes after Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had said Saturday there was "no doubt" about Benzema's future being at Madrid, noting the forward had one more year left on his contract.

And Benzema himself had said "not everything you read on the internet is reality" after reports emerged in the week about his potential departure to Saudi Arabia, where the French forward joined Madrid in 2009 from Ligue 1 side Lyon.

Benzema established himself as a key player alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in the vaunted "BBC" attacking trident, before developing into the team's leader when the Portuguese striker left in 2018.

Benzema has lifted 24 trophies with Madrid, including five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and three Copas del Rey and is the current holder of the Ballon d'Or for the world's best player.

He is Real Madrid's second top scorer of all-time, with 353 goals for Madrid, behind only Ronaldo on 450.

Benzema's final appearance for the club could be later today when Madrid host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid confirmed Saturday that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz are all leaving this summer too, leaving plenty of space for new acquisitions in attack.

Ancelotti avoided talking on Saturday about Madrid's alleged interest in England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane.

"I'm not going to talk about the future of the squad that is in place," said Ancelotti.

"Kane is a great player, he is a Tottenham player, we have to respect the player and Tottenham."

Real's spearhead

Having joined Real in 2009 from Olympique Lyonnais, Benzema became the spearhead of the club's attack and their main goal-scoring threat after Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018.

Benzema scored more than 350 goals for Real to sit second on the club's all-time scoring list behind Ronaldo.

He had his best season in the 2021-22 campaign when he scored 44 times in all competitions to lead the side to a record-extending 14th European title as well as the LaLiga crown.

In the Champions League, Real made remarkable comebacks from losing positions in the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals against Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively -- with Benzema scoring in each of the second legs.

His pivotal role earned him the Ballon d'Or crown, making him the first French player to win the trophy since Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and the fifth Frenchman overall.

He finishes his career in the Spanish capital with a record 25 trophies with the club, including five European Cups, four LaLiga titles and three Copas del Rey.

Benzema's exit comes a day after Real announced Eden Hazard was also leaving the club after agreeing to terminate his contract a year early.

Real also confirmed the exits of attacking midfielder Marco Asensio and striker Mariano Diaz, leaving holes in the attack for club president Florentino Perez to plug in the close season.