Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid as a free agent in the close season after 14 trophy-laden years, the La Liga club has said.
The 35 year old forward, has been heavily linked this week with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.
The announcement comes after Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had said that there was “no doubt” about Benzema’s future being at Madrid, noting the forward had one more year left on his contract.
And Benzema himself had said “not everything you read on the internet is reality” after reports emerged in the week about his potential departure to Saudi Arabia.
The French forward joined Madrid in 2009 from Ligue 1 side Lyon.
Benzema has lifted a record 25 trophies with Madrid, including five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey titles, and is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player.
He is Real Madrid’s second top scorer of all-time, with 353 goals for Madrid, behind only Ronaldo on 450.
Benzema’s final appearance for the club could be later on Sunday today ewhen Madrid host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid confirmed that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz are all leaving this summer too, leaving plenty of space for new acquisitions in attack.
Ancelotti avoided talking about Madrid’s alleged interest in England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
“I’m not going to talk about the future of the squad that is in place,” said Ancelotti.
“Kane is a great player, he is a Tottenham player, we have to respect the player and Tottenham.”
AJESPORT
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