Simple little jolts or real turbulences heralding a step backwards? This summer, many big players (Benzema, Mané, Kanté, Firmino, Mahrez…) playing in Europe chose Saudi Arabia and it seems that six months later, the first volunteers are starting to regret their decision. State of play.
Starting with one of the headliners of this Saudi Pro League, Karim Benzema whose situation at Al-Ittihad has become complicated. Currently Benzema has been removed from the group by his coach Marcelo Gallardo, for having “skipped” training. In reality, the Frenchman was on family vacation in Mauritius, where he was stranded due to a cyclone, preventing him from taking a plane to the Middle East. Engaged in a complicated season, the ex-Madrilenian perhaps did not expect so much media pressure and criticism when he set foot in Jeddah. Sportingly, he would be disappointed by the level of the championship. Surprising… The reigning champion club is only 7th in the standings, and the club which has scored 9 goals in 15 championship matches is tormented by its supporters as well as by the local media, this is not enough in view of his salary (200 million over two years).
The 2022 Golden Ball came with an important status, but when Cristiano Ronaldo had a blast at Al-Nassr alongside Mané, Fofana, Talisca and even Otavio, KB9 had to deal with less experienced players at the very high level. So, this would explain the discomfort recounted by those close to him to the Team: “Karim has never been late for training once in his twenty-year career, so it’s not insignificant either. It’s true that in certain attitudes, or in his eyes, I have the impression of uneasiness, as if he was no longer hungry. He is a lover of the game, he has always had a lot of fun on the field and it seems that this is no longer the case. But these are intimate things that concern him.” Rumors are sending the Lyon native back on loan to Europe, but the Saudis might not want to admit defeat too soon.
Recently associated with Ajax Amsterdam, Jordan Henderson is preparing his return to the old continent, and recently the Telegraph made shocking revelations about the Englishman’s move to Al-Ettifaq. In addition to not having acclimatized to the country, the ex-Liverpool captain would have “not received a cent from the Saudi club after deferring his salary to avoid British tax”. This is what the British media announced this Wednesday, this particular payment request could cost him dearly since if he leaves, he will not have resolved his salary problems. When he signed his contract, the Sunderland native was due to receive 350,000 pounds per week, but that may not ultimately be the case. And he will leave Moussa Dembélé, Georginio Winjnaldum, as well as his coach Steven Gerrard in 8th place in the championship, after an express stay in Dammam, where he played for free for 6 months. With a damaged image in his country, Henderson, a fervent representative of the LGBT cause, who joined Saudi Arabia where homosexuality is prohibited, should bounce back in Amsterdam.
For his part, Roberto Firmino got off to a great start, scoring a hat-trick in his first match. And since then, nothing more, the Brazilian despite being surrounded by Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin or Frank Kessié cannot do it, and he has not scored a single goal after his hat-trick. He who lost his father in November is going through a complicated period, however the latest rumors sent him to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq. For Jota, it is not much better. The Portuguese was to be Karim Benzema’s first support in the Al-Ittihad attack, but his last Saudi Pro League match dates back to September 1, due to too many non-community players in the yellow squad. and black. Sidelined on the national scene, the former Celtic Glasgow player is content with the Asian Champions League, during which he scored once in 4 appearances in 3 months.
Still among the reigning champions, Fabinho is struggling and leaves the midfield empty with N’Golo Kanté on all fronts. The expected impact in the game is not there, and the Brazilian is no longer the one we knew in Liverpool or Monaco, he was even sent off during the slap taken by Al-Nassr ( 5-2).
The general malaise seems to affect almost all clubs, all except Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, the two Saudi leaders whose players are focused on sporting success. Even if Neymar is already a failure because of his serious knee injury, Ruben Neves, Bono, Kalidou Koulibaly, Milinkovic-Savic, Mitrovic or Malcom have got in tune with Al-Hilal and seem fulfilled in first place and undefeated in the championship. Just like at Al-Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo and his almost 39 years old are pulling the group to the top. The Saudi project is proving more demanding than it seemed at the start, and the next ones are now warned, a transfer to Saudi Arabia does not rhyme with vacation.
