JAKARTA - Karim Benzema has left Al Ittihad and signed a contract with Saudi Pro League rival Al Hilal.
"Karim Benzema officially became Hilali," Al Hilal wrote on X on Monday, February 2, 2026, local time.
After the deal was delayed by the Saudi Sports Ministry and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) on Monday, the matter was resolved on the last day. The 38-year-old will get his wish to move to a Saudi Arabian club.
His contract with Al Ittihad will expire in six months. The 38-year-old striker rejected an extension from Al Ittihad as he felt the offer did not value him.
The new deal offered by Al Ittihad would essentially make Benzema play for free.
On the contrary, launching ESPN, PIF arranged the transfer of the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner to rival Al Hilal, which made Cristiano Ronaldo angry.
The Portuguese star refused to play for Al Nassr on Monday as a form of protest. Ronaldo considers PIF - which owns four major clubs in the Saudi Pro League - to have not invested enough in Al Nassr and instead gave Al Ittihad an advantage.
Benzema, who has been courted by European clubs, wants to stay in Saudi Arabia, partly because his image rights contract there runs until 2030.
On the other hand, Ronaldo is still waiting for his first league title since moving to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and has seen his main rivals get stronger with the addition of five-time Champions League winner Benzema.
The former Real Madrid striker, who was a team-mate of Ronaldo at the Spanish giants, led Al Ittihad to the title last year as well as the King's Cup.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal is the most successful team in Saudi Arabia with 21 league titles and four Asian Championships. Last year they surprised Manchester City in the Club World Cup with a 4-3 victory.
Trained by two-time Champions League finalist Simone Inzaghi, Al Hilal are a major threat to Ronaldo's hopes of being crowned league champion after sparking a wave of top footballers - including Benzema - to move to the Saudi Pro League.
Apart from that, N'Golo Kante was supposed to leave Al Ittihad to join Fenerbahce--with Youssef En-Nesyri moving in the opposite direction--but the transfer fell through on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
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