Inside story of Benzema's departure: impressed by the 100 million annual salary, 7 days to make a decision, Real Madrid finalized a replacement
On Sunday, Real Madrid announced that Benzema would leave after the end of the season, meaning Florentino failed to convince the French striker and Benzema would switch to Jeddah United.
Benzema could have chosen to extend his contract with Real Madrid for another year, but on Friday, Jeddah United made a formal offer to Benzema for a two-year contract with an annual salary of up to 100 million, which quickly convinced Benzema.
Heading into the week, Benzema met in Madrid with Jeddah's joint envoy, who again said he would offer him a two-year contract and a one-year extension.
After meeting with Jeddah's joint envoy, Benzema told Florentino and said it would take him a few days to decide on his future. "World Sport" revealed that Real Madrid had already signed a 1-year contract extension with Benzemada, but after learning the news, Florentino told Benzema that he could choose to renew his contract with Real Madrid or accept an invitation from Jeddah United.
When attending the award ceremony of Marca newspaper, Benzema did not explicitly say that he would leave Real Madrid, which led the newspaper to say that Florentino impressed Benzema with sincerity and that the French striker decided to stay at Real Madrid. This time, however, they were punched in the face.
Florentino's original idea was for Benzema to continue playing for Real Madrid for another year, signing Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the summer window of 2024, thus completing the transition and replacement.
Benzema's early departure a year disrupted Real Madrid's recruitment strategy, with Real Madrid having to sign a centre-forward in the summer window. The media revealed that Real Madrid are already drawing up a list of signings, and Joselou will return to Real Madrid to replace Mariani. The most likely replacement for Benzema is Kane, with Real Madrid management and Carlo Ancelotti all eyeing the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
Kane is worth $120 million, but Real Madrid want to complete the transfer for a transfer fee of no more than $80 million. The reason is that Real Madrid will sign Bellingham for a transfer fee of no less than 100 million, so they do not want to pay a huge amount of money again. If Kane can't be signed, Real Madrid want to sign Roberto Firmino.