Saudi journalist Khaled Al-Shunaif revealed that Karim Benzema agreed to a significant pay cut to leave Al-Ittihad and join Al-Hilal during the current winter transfer window.
Initially, the French international agreed to Al-Ittihad’s condition of waiving all his outstanding dues for this season in order to be allowed to leave for Al-Hilal on a free transfer.
In return, Al-Hilal will pay Benzema a salary similar to what he would have earned in the last six months of this season, ranging between €25 and €30 million.
However, starting next season, Benzema will receive a much lower salary than he was earning at Al-Ittihad, with Al-Hilal paying it from the club’s own resources, not from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Benzema’s new salary with Al-Hilal for the next two years of his contract has not yet been specified, but some reports indicate it will not exceed €50 million annually, while his salary at Al-Ittihad exceeded €100 million per year. Despite this, Benzema felt that leaving Al-Ittihad was the best option for him. He couldn’t tolerate the humiliating offer from the Jeddah club’s management, even if they later returned with an offer befitting his name and history.
Al-Ittihad had offered Benzema a renewal for almost nothing, but after the player’s anger and demand to leave, they returned with a new offer of a salary similar to his current one, if not higher. However, he categorically refused and insisted on leaving the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
