Are Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo at odds? Probably not. Far from Saudi Arabia, the Madrid press (in this case Ace) mentioned a few weeks ago a dispute between the two former offensive sidekicks of Real, who have been playing in the same championship since 2023. The followers of Casa Blanca had been intrigued by a response from “CR7”, who had chosen Kylian Mbappé at the expense of his former French teammate. “KB9” then published a photo of his 2022 Ballon d’Or and some interpreted it as a response to the pseudo-controversy.
In any case, Ronaldo and Benzema were delighted to meet again on Friday evening, during the Saudi Pro League clash between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr. The two Ballons d’Or warmly embraced each other backstage at the King Abdallah Stadium before entering the field and then joked in front of the referees during the usual toss between the two captains. Al-Ittihad supporters had also prepared a magnificent tifo for this big poster for the 13th day of the championship.
Benzema champion, Ronaldo on the departure?
It is indeed an already decisive meeting in the race for the title, since Al-Ittihad, the team led by Laurent Blanc with Benzema but also N’Golo KantĂ©, Houssem Aouar and Moussa Diaby (currently injured), is in the lead just ahead of the powerful reigning champion Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr, only 4th in the ranking with eight points less than his evening opponent, can thus lose his footing in the fight for the crown.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have the same number of goals in the Saudi Pro League so far, namely 9, but the former French international carries Al-Ittihad in almost every match (he missed a month of competition due to a muscle injury), while the 39-year-old Portuguese, supported in particular by Sadio Mané, struggled to save Al-Nassr during the poor performances of the team led by Stefano Pioli. In the event of a rout, it is said that “CR7” could change Saudi club at the end of his contract next June…
