Al-Ittihad’s head coach, Laurent Blanc, has expressed his desire for Karim Benzema to continue playing into the next season, emphasizing the striker’s enduring value to the team.
Born in Lyon, Benzema is of Algerian descent, with his family hailing from the village of Tigzirt in Algeria.
The Ballon d’Or winner, who joined Al-Ittihad in June 2023 after a distinguished tenure at Real Madrid, has been instrumental in the club’s successes this season.
Blanc highlighted Benzema’s consistent goal-scoring prowess throughout his career, from his early days at Lyon to his achievements at Real Madrid and now at Al-Ittihad.
Following a recent victory over Al-Hilal, Blanc drew parallels between Benzema and other elite forwards.
“He has always scored in his career, when he was young in Lyon, in Madrid and now here. And he scores a lot. I hope for us, for him and for the fans that he will continue to play for another three or four years.”
“Karim is like Mbappé today, he’s a scoring machine. When you’re lucky enough to have a scorer like Karim, or like Cristiano Ronaldo in your team, you’re lucky.”
This season, Benzema has amassed 16 goals and provided seven assists, underscoring his critical role in Al-Ittihad’s offensive lineup.
His performance continues to reflect the high standards he set during his time in European football.
