Football | OneFootball

José Mourinho, who knows and has worked with the player at Real Madrid, may convince the Ballon d'Or winner to strengthen Benfica, Sporting's rival.

Karim Benzema, a rival of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi league, is willing to return to European football in 2026. Portugal could be one of the destinations for the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, as his contract with Al Ittihad ends at the end of the season.

According to information from Rudy Galetti, Benfica is interested in signing the 'number 9', as José Mourinho, who knows and has worked with the Frenchman at Real Madrid, would like to have the 37-year-old footballer in the Eagles' squad in 2026/27.

To return to European football and, above all, to the Champions League, the player is determined to reduce his salary, whether at Benfica or another club. The foreign press reported that Benfica's coach called Benzema to assess the possibility of the striker strengthening the Eagles.

It is worth remembering that Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were teammates at Real Madrid, arriving in the same season, 2009/10, and even after their departures from the Santiago Bernabéu, in 2017/18 and 2022/23 respectively, the players remain the two top scorers in the history of the Spanish capital club.

In the last match, Al Nassr continued what has been a 'spotless' start to the season in the Saudi Arabian league, by visiting and defeating Al-Ittihad Jeddah, Karim Benzema's team, 2-0, thus isolating themselves at the top of the table.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.