After 14 seasons with Real Madrid, Karim Benzema moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Ittihad Jeddah in 2023, but not before playing nine of those seasons alongside club icon Cristiano Ronaldo. The French and Portuguese strikers played together for the Spanish club from 2009 to 2018 until CR7 left for Juventus. Now that Ronaldo plays for Saudi club Al Nassr, they have been reunited, but as rivals, and have generated controversy. Lionel Messi reminds everyone who's king with a ridiculous golazo in Argentina training Benzema clarifies rumors about his relationship with Cristiano. In 2023, after stints at Juventus and Manchester United, Cristiano decided to leave for Saudi Arabia. Some time later, Karim followed in his footsteps, but at another club. Years later and wearing different jerseys, Karim and Cristiano had to face each other in a recent match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr on October 38 in the round of 16 of the The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Champions Cup, where Benzema and his team came away with the victory (1-2). However, what caught the attention was a greeting and a hug they shared, which many fans described as "cold." This sowed doubt about a rift between the former teammates, but in an interview with the Spanish website AS, the 37-year-old star ruled out this possibility and put an end to these rumors: No, please. We talk in the locker room. We hug, we talk... Then on the field, we can't and shouldn't do it again. There's a lot of respect, we're fine. We don't need to prove anything. We don't need to show off anything in front of the TV. https://twitter.com/USER_ID/status/1990799638925021538 In addition, during the interview, he praised not only his teammate but also the league and the country: "Saudi Arabia needs players like Cristiano, me, and others who came here to give them things we have in Europe. We have to show the kids here what they have to do so they can go to other clubs. It's a country that is opening up," he explained. Karim Benzema played 648 games for Real Madrid, scoring 354 goals and providing 151 assists, and has scored 46 goals for Al-Ittihad in 75 appearances, winning a league title and the Copa del Rey in 2024-25. This season, the Frenchman has scored five goals in nine games.
