The Spanish top-flight season still has one game left to be played, but ahead of this weekend’s final games, Real Madrid have been plunged into crisis after two of their star players made it known that they want to move to the Saudi Pro League.
In echoes of the great migrations to the NASL North American Soccer League in the 1970s and 80s, as well as the Chinese football revolution from a few years ago, big name players are jumping aboard the train to Saudi Arabia to ensure that they don’t miss out on the vast riches on offer.
Former Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has paved the way for others to join him, with his nemesis, Lionel Messi, the subject of a one billion euro contract offer, which would make him the highest paid football player in history, according to FourFourTwo.
There’s now likely to be a steady trickle of top stars that will join the party, and that could represent a real problem for Europe’s top five leagues.
Certainly, from Florentino Perez’s perspective, he surely wouldn’t have countenanced losing Karim Benzema and Luka Modric this summer, but that seems to be precisely what’s going to happen if reports are correct.
According to a tweet from ESPN, sources indicate that the French star has made the decision to move once his contract officially ends later this month.
Karim Benzema will join Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad when his Real Madrid contract expires this month, sources have told ESPN.
Benzema was offered a two-year contract worth €400 million to move to Saudi Arabia in January. pic.twitter.com/dXwoNByCI0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 1, 2023
OKDiario (h/t Sport) note that Modric has a three-year contract on the table and he has informed Real that he wishes to accept it.
Given that he’d already apparently told Los Blancos he would stay for one more season, the about turn is unlikely to have gone down well at the Santiago Bernabeu.