Karim Benzema ‘faces being frozen out by his Saudi club’ as former Tottenham boss leaves fans in disbelief
pThe Ballon d#8217;Or winner, 35, a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/22627653/karim-benzema-reveal-al-ittihad-60000-fans-real-madrid/joined the Saudi Arabian club/a back in June after departing a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1250296/real-madrid/Real Madrid/a./p
figure id=attachment_23625658 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async fetchpriority=high src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cbccf582-da56-4fd5-9570-bc8bb671a920-1.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23625658 width=960 height=868 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textKarim Benzema could be outcast by Al-Ittihad boss Nuno Espirito Santo/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23625596 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0be8ad41-2f0e-4870-a4d3-67c023e03a8e.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23625596 width=960 height=655 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textEx-Spurs boss Nuno and star striker Benzema are reportedly not seeing eye to eye/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figure
pHe kicked off life in the Middle East with three goals in four games in the Arab Club Champions Cup./p
pHowever, he has failed to hit the back of the net in their opening two league matches #8211; both of which Al-Ittihad won./p
pAccording to Saudi outlet a aria-label= (opens in a new tab) href=https://aawsat.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9/%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9/4503126-%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8-%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%C2%BB-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A8-%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8 target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerAsharq Al-Aswat/a, Nuno is considering axing a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/karim-benzema/Benzema/a from his starting line-up./p
pRelations between the Real Madrid legend and the ex-a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196652/tottenham-hotspur/Tottenham/a head coach are reportedly #8220;tense#8221;./p
pa href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/nuno-espirito-santo/Nuno/a is not thought to be a fan of Benzema#8217;s style of play and it is understood it was not his decision to sign the Frenchman./p
pMeanwhile, Benzema is said to have complained about #8220;being treated unprofessionally by his coach#8221;./p
pAnd a situation surrounding the club captaincy has strained relations further./p
pBenzema had agreed to be skipper as part of his transfer negotiations with Al-Ittihad #8211; who won the Saudi Pro League title under Nuno last season./p
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pBut following his arrival, Nuno then gave club legend Romarinho the armband./p
pAnd friction between Benzema and his manager have led to the striker reportedly failing to show up for training./p
pIt is understood something needs to be done to fix the issue and Benzema is in danger of being frozen out if it cannot be resolve./p
pMeanwhile, fans have been left stunned by the situation./p
pOne social media user said: #8220;If a 5x champions league winner doesn’t fit into his style, then maybe Nuno has no style.#8221;/p
pAnother added: #8220;Benzema can win any team a trophy, they’re missing out.#8221;/p
pA third replied: #8220;If Benzema doesn’t fit in your tactical style, you have no tactics.#8221;/p
pWhile a fourth responded: #8220;He’s your best player. Find a way to build the team around him, Nuno.#8221;/p
pBenzema scored 354 goals in 648 games across a stunning 14-year stint with Real Madrid./p
pThe plethora of trophies he won at the Bernabeu included four LaLiga titles and five a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/champions-league/Champions Leagues/a./p
pHe also earned 97 caps for France, netting 37 goals./p