Depending on the outcome of Lionel Messi’s situation, the contract Al-Ittihad has offered him places him second only to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Karim Benzema will join a new club on June 30. After accepting an expensive offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, the Frenchman became the world’s second-highest paid player, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo.
As a result, everything is riding on Lionel Messi’s destiny, as he would surpass both former Real Madrid players if he accepts the 400 million euro Saudi offer.
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Benzema agreed to a contract extension on Sunday, which will keep him under contract until 2025 with an option to extend until 2026.
As an ambassador for the 2030 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is bidding to host, he will receive 100 million euros per season plus a 20 million euro bonus.
As a result, the former Real Madrid player would receive at least 220 million euros and up to 320 million euros in compensation.
The disparity is significant, given that he earned 28 million euros every season at Real Madrid.
Furthermore, there is no income tax in Saudi Arabia, thus he will benefit from significant tax reductions.
In other words, without the 20 million euros in bonuses, Karim Benzema will earn 86 million euros more every season than he did at Real Madrid in net figures, which were roughly 14 million euros.
This is just another sign that Saudi Arabia is banking big on the Arab League’s rise, and what better way to do it than to pit Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Lionel Messi against one other?
Interesting facts about Karim Benzema’s next team, Al-Ittihad:
The Frenchman will join a team that won the Arab League by defeating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, who had just lost the Club World Cup final to Real Madrid and Karim Benzema.
This Jeddah crew has some familiar faces and important facts to investigate. The Saudi team is led by Nuno Espirito Santo, a former Valencia coach.
After leaving Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, the Santo Tome native headed to Arab football.
Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 21 goals and led Morocco to a record fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Qatar, is also on this list.
The French striker is already familiar with King Abdullah Sports City, Al-Ittihad’s home stadium, where Real Madrid won the first Spanish Super Cup to be contested in Arabia in 2020.
The club has won nine Leagues, nine King’s Cups, eight Princes’ Cups, three Federation Cups, one Super Cup, five AFC Championships, one Cup Winners’ Cup, one Arab Champions League, and one Gulf Club Cup.