‘Ask them… ask the Al-Ittihad players’: Karim Benzema’s pointed response on not saying goodbye to former team

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3 min readFeb 6, 2026 04:40 PM IST

Benzema Karim Benzema in action. (Reuters)

New Al-Hilal signing Karima Benzema, the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, had a tense exchange with a reporter when he was asked why he had left Al Ittihad. He had a successful debut with Al Hilal when he slammed a hattrick against Al Akhdoud on Thursday night for his new club. But some questions from the post-match interview turned tense when he was asked why he left Al Ittihad.

“Let’s talk about the match only. I feel a great vibe with this group and this club,” he said when he was asked initially. On the reporter not relenting on why he did not say goodbye to the club, Benzema pointedly said to ask the Al-Ittihad players. “Ask them… ask the Al-Ittihad players,” he said.

Benzama joined Al-Ittihad as a free agent in 2023 summer after he won the Ballon d’Or. With the help of his French teammate Ngolo Kante and Brazil’s Fabinho, Benzema helped the club to a title last season. The 38-year-old denied the contract from Al Ittihad before moving to his new club.

🚨 “Why did you leave Al Ittihad?”

🗣️ Karim Benzema: “Let’s talk about the match only. I feel a great vibe with this group and this club.”

🚨 On not saying goodbye to Al-Ittihad:

🗣️“Ask them… ask the Al-Ittihad players.”@MaanAlquiae 🎥🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/kRwj3TWv80

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 6, 2026

The former Real Madrid striker, 38, scored 16 goals in 21 matches for Al-Ittihad in all competitions this season.

Al-Hilal sit top of the league standings with 47 points, one point ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. Al-Ittihad are sixth with 34 points.

Al-Hilal is Saudi Arabia’s most successful team with 21 league titles and four Asian Championships.

Last year it stunned Manchester City at the Club World Cup 4-3 and knocked out Pep Guardiola’s team.

Coached by two-time Champions League finalist Simone Inzaghi, it represents a major threat to Ronaldo’s hopes of being crowned league champion after sparking a wave of top soccer players — including Benzema — to move to the Saudi league.

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Benzema’s deal comes at a time when there were reports Ronaldo was unhappy about a lack of transfer activity from Al-Nassr and even boycotted a match for his club. Things, however, seemed to have been ironed out as the Portuguese talisman returned to train with the club earlier this week.

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