Summer 2023 is the time when half of European stars will be sent to Saudi Arabia. As a result, a large group of top players moved to the Middle East: from Karim Benzema to Malcolm. But six months later, not everyone is happy with his decision. More and more information appears in the media about the desire of the best footballers to return to Europe. What’s happening?
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Three stars of the Saudi Arabian Championship, Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson, plan to leave the league, Fichajes reports. According to the source, the reasons for the decision are the hot and humid weather in Saudi Arabia, as well as low match attendance and the clubs’ playing problems. Firmino’s Al Ahly are third in the league, 13 points behind leaders Al Hilal. Benzema’s Al Ittihad is seventh with 28 points and Henderson’s Al Ittifaq is eighth (25).
And individually, not everything is good for the players. Firmino, for example, according to the Daily Mail, could not adapt to either the championship or the way of life. And since the beginning of November, Roberto has not been on the field for more than 26 minutes in a game. The Brazilian scored his three goals in his first match with Al Ahly, in mid-August against Al Hazma (3-1). After that, he only had three assists in 18 games. According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Al Ahly are willing to give Firmino a loan if the new club covers most of the 378,000 euros per week they pay him. Possible suitors for the Brazilian include Fulham, Sheffield United, West Ham and the Turkish Championship.
Roberto Firmino
Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Karim Benzema arrived in Saudi Arabia as the current Ballon d’Or winner. The Frenchman was expected to lead Al Ittihad to gold in the Saudi Arabian Championship. The club got him new assistants in the people of N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and Luis Felipe. But an ideal union does not work. It’s not even a question of performance: the Frenchman has 12 goals and five assists in 20 games (not bad). Karim is lazy on the field, does not work in defense and does not always follow the coach’s instructions.
In August, the striker had disagreements with the (now former) coach of Al-Ittihad, Nuno Espirito Santo: the Portuguese coach informed the management that Benzema did not correspond to his tactics. Nuno did not ask to sign the forward. And the Frenchman was thinking of becoming captain, but the coach did not give him the armband. Information also appeared that Benzema informed the Al-Ittihad management that Espirito Santo, as head coach, was “interfering in the process.”
Karim Benzema
Photo: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
Nuno denied the rumours, but there was boiling within the team. In November, during half-time of the matchday 4 of the Asian Champions League against Al-Quwa (0-2), a conflict occurred between the coach and the footballer. “You’re a great player, but it seems like you’re too lazy to press,” Nuno said in Benzema’s locker room. “He speaks not only with me, but with the entire team,” Karim responded. “You are a leader, an example for others and the most important athlete. You have to take the initiative and set an example,” replied the coach. And just one day after this conversation, the Portuguese was fired. Did Karim influence the management’s decision? Very possible.
The problematic situation between Benzema and Al-Ittihad continued in December. In the match against Al-Nassr against Cristiano Ronaldo, the French team lost 2-5. After the match, fans attacked Benzema on social media, accusing him of having excessive expectations. And journalists noted that Karim felt uncomfortable in Saudi Arabia and did not try to help the club.
The striker finally deleted his social networks and left Jeddah, missing several Al-Ittihad training sessions. Al Riyadiya points out that Benzema left for no reason and it is not yet known if he will return to the team location. Maybe Karim will be in Europe soon. According to Todofichajes, Benzema could leave for Lyon. Previously, Karim stated that he would like to finish his career at his home club.
The same match between Karim and Cristiano:
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Jordan Henderson has moved to Saudi Arabia to join another Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard. Player and coach united in Al-Ittifaq. Henderson was criticized because he had previously spoken out about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and now he himself went there to make money. The footballer even made a statement:
“Should I have gone somewhere else to try something new, develop the game I love in another country and make the league one of the best in the world? This inspires me because I want to develop this sport all over the world. I can understand the disappointment. I can understand the anger. Understand. All I can say about this is that I’m sorry it was handled that way. It was never my intention to hurt anyone. When I made the decision to transfer, I tried to look at it this way: If I hadn’t gone there, we could all just bury our heads in the sand and criticize other cultures and other countries from afar. But then nothing will happen. Nothing will change”.
Karim Benzema and Jordan Henderson
Photo: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
But something didn’t go as planned. According to the Daily Mail, Henderson wants to return to the Premier League. Jordan could not adapt to the new way of life, the culture of Saudi Arabia and playing matches in a hot and humid climate. Furthermore, the midfielder does not like the low attendance at Al-Ittifaqa matches. Jordan wants to return to the Premier League, despite significant wage losses, as well as the need to pay taxes. He faces a €3.5 million bill from the UK’s national tax authority.
Henderson’s €400,000-per-week contract was signed on tax-exempt terms, which would only continue if he remained in Saudi Arabia for at least two years. Under current tax law, those who leave the UK to work abroad must stay out of the country for a full tax year or pay 45% of their income if they return sooner. But Jordan is not against a transfer to a non-EPL club. According to talkSPORT, Henderson’s services are interested in Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus. Chelsea and Ajax are also monitoring the situation.
Not everyone is willing to accept Saudi Arabia’s rules. Yes, some, like Cristiano Ronaldo, enjoy it, but others don’t like the Middle Eastern fairy tale at all. Surely in the near future we will meet several more footballers who finally decided to leave Saudi Arabia.
And who, on the contrary, should be sent to the Proliga?
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