On December 30, Beijing time, it was revealed from Saudi media Al-Riyadiya that Benzema, who plays for Jeddah United, not only missed the team's training on Thursday and Friday, but also left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Although the Western media "Marca" said that Benzema left the team because of a foot injury and went on vacation, the 36-year-old Mr. Golden Ball's professional attitude has once again aroused strong doubts from the outside world, because Benzema has only been in the company for half a year, and has already exposed many negative news such as being the coach and turning against his own fans.
In this summer window, Benzema followed in the footsteps of his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and left Real Madrid, where he had played for many years, to land at Saudi Arabia giants Jeddah United. In order to attract Benzema to join, Jeddah United offered an annual salary of 200 million euros comparable to Ronaldo. Obviously, Jeddah United hopes that Benzema can play the same sensational effect as Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, it is disappointing that half a year later, Benzema's performance on and off the field has not been convincing. Since joining the team, Benzema has made 20 appearances for the team, contributing 12 goals and five assists. Although Benzema's stats are not bad, Jeddah United, the defending champions, has slipped to sixth place in the league under his leadership, and has been left 25 points behind leaders Riyadh Crescent, and there is little hope of defending the title.
And off the field, Benzema is also constantly criticized. After suffering two consecutive defeats in the AFC Champions League, Benzema had a heated argument with his own coach Nuno. Subsequently, Jeddah United, in order to support Benzema, chose to immediately dismiss coach Nuno. However, unfortunately, despite the support of Benzema at the top, Jeddah United's record after the change of coach is still poor.
After being reversed by Cristiano Ronaldo's Riyadh Victory in the last round, Jeddah United fans finally couldn't stand Benzema, who angrily accused him of being a "son of failure" on social media. And Benzema did not back down, choosing to close his social account directly, and absent from the team's training, continuing to "play a big name".
In just half a year, Benzema has already sparked collective criticism from the Saudi media, arguing that he does not have Ronaldo's career and is more like a high-ranking VIP. Indeed, the same Mr. Golden Globe has a similar annual salary in Saudi Arabia. Compared with President Luo, Benzema's performance in all aspects is indeed much inferior.