In January, Benzema received the same offer as Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed with Al Nassr after leaving Manchester United, for a two-year, €400 million contract.
Benzema, 35, has played for the Bernabeu for 14 seasons. During that time, he has scored second-most goals for the team, won five Champions Leagues, four LaLiga championships, and the 2022 Ballon d'Or.
The French international decided to take on a new challenge rather than extending his time at Real Madrid for one more season until June 2024. However, Madrid will hunt for someone else to boost the assault. Madrid is in advanced discussions to sign Joselu on a loan to replace Mariano Diaz.
Despite missing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar due to a hamstring injury due to an injury-plagued season, Madrid's club captain still scored 18 goals in 23 LaLiga games and four goals in the Champions League knockout round.
Benzema, one of the top young attackers in Europe, moved to Madrid from Lyon in 2009. He originally had to battle Gonzalo Higuain for a spot in the team before joining Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the rest of Madrid's illustrious "BBC" front line.
After Ronaldo left the squad in 2018, Benzema became into the team's primary goal threat. He scored the most goals of his career in 2021–22, leading LaLiga with 27, and adding another 15 in the Champions League. His performance earned him the Ballon d'Or in October 2022.
With the four LaLiga championships, five Champions League victories, three Copas del Reys, three Spanish Supercopas, four UEFA Super Cups, and five FIFA Club World Cups under his belt, Benzema will depart Madrid with a total of 24 trophies. Only Ronaldo, the club's all-time leading scorer with 450 goals, has more Real Madrid goals than him (353), surpassing luminaries of the club like Raul Gonzalez and Alfredo di Stefano.
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