Benzema boycotts, Saudi league faces economic “crisis”

By Han Bing On the evening of January 29, Saudi giants Al-Ittihad Jeddah faced Al-Hasa Conquerors away, but their star player Benzema was missing from the lineup. The club’s official explanation was that the Ballon d’Or holder was tired, yet French outlets such as L’Equipe disclosed a startling reason: Benzema is boycotting indefinitely because the salary terms in his contract extension were “too insulting.” Not only did he miss the match against Al-Hasa Conquerors, but he will also not play in the upcoming home game against Najma Sports. If no agreement is reached, there is even a possibility that Benzema, who still has six months left on his contract, may terminate it early and leave.

Since joining in the summer of 2023, Benzema has been Al-Ittihad’s “flagship” player, earning a net annual salary of 100 million euros plus huge image rights income. Last November, Benzema claimed that at nearly 38 years old, he could still play for two more years, but whether he stays in Saudi Arabia depends on the renewal contract, as European clubs remain interested in him.

French media revealed that on January 28 (five days before the winter transfer window closed), Saudi league football director Emmenalo presented Benzema with the first renewal offer. Benzema’s side was nearly “furious” about the contract terms, describing them as “too insulting.” Although the exact figures were not disclosed, Benzema’s team stated that aside from image rights revenue, the player would effectively be playing almost “for free” for Al-Ittihad under the new contract.

Benzema is very angry, feeling “betrayed” by Al-Ittihad’s management — last year, the club promised him that the new contract terms would not differ much, but now it is a drastic pay cut.

However, the public Saudi fund signed him in summer 2023, and the club executives actually have no say in the renewal. After Benzema’s team met with Saudi league officials on Wednesday, and seeing that the club cannot influence the major shareholder’s decision, Benzema chose to boycott. The French star believes that despite leading the team to its first Saudi league and cup double last season, he has not received the respect he deserves.

The boycott is naturally a form of pressure, especially since on February 6 the team will face Riyadh Victory led by Ronaldo away, a match likely to determine whether Al-Ittihad still has hope of participating in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite.

Benzema’s boycott reflects the economic crisis within Al-Ittihad and even Saudi football as a whole. Saudi media revealed that Al-Ittihad’s debt once reached 450 million Saudi riyals (about 100 million euros), and the club has been sanctioned multiple times by FIFA for overdue player transfer fees.

Not only Benzema, but another star at Al-Ittihad, Kanté, might also leave. A Turkish Super League giant has been negotiating with Al-Ittihad, and the player has agreed to the transfer, though the transfer fee has not yet been finalized. Inter Milan is also pursuing French winger Moussa Diaby, who was signed by Al-Ittihad last summer for a record 60 million euros from Aston Villa. Al-Ittihad insists on a 40 million euro transfer fee, hoping to recover as much as possible of their financial losses.

In addition, Riyadh Youth’s Carrasco is willing to take a significant pay cut to join Serie A’s Roma. Riyadh Crescent’s Cancelo and Caio have already left. The Saudi league is shifting toward recruiting younger foreign players with competitive and commercial value, adopting a “cost reduction and efficiency increase” model by concentrating capital on signing a few stars. The major shareholders of the four big clubs, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, have recently scaled back investments across the board, selling off their stakes in these clubs at the end of last year while drastically controlling transfers and salary expenditures.

Previously, Saudi Arabia announced an indefinite postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which resulted from scaling down the winter resort Trojena. The NEOM futuristic city and the high-tech city The Line have also significantly reduced investment, shifting strategy from flashy influence to focusing more on matching investment with returns.

Currently, the Saudi league focuses on relatively younger players with higher athletic and commercial value like Salah and Dembélé, so it is unsurprising that aging stars like Kanté and Benzema are being let go. Moreover, the widespread “burning money” model is unsustainable even for Saudi Arabia in the long term.