When Karim Benzema decided to continue his football career in Saudi Arabia and leave Real Madrid, the Frenchman put an unexpected wrench into their plans. Furthermore, a move for Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé was unreasonable.
MARCA reported in detail the plan Los Blancos had for the 2023-24 season, including having Benzema. However, his exit to join Al-Ittihad put the Spanish club in an uncomfortable position since they had spent most of their transfer budget on Jude Bellingham.
The outlet reveals that Real Madrid was always precise that they could not afford a €400-million deal for the Frenchman.
After a discussion at the Bernabeu about the team’s attacking options, it was decided that signing another top-level striker would not be beneficial, given the potential signings of Mbappé or Erling Haaland in 2024.
As a result, the team agreed to work with the available options, even if it wasn’t the best solution for the short term. Real Madrid is gambling that they’ll be able to land the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner as a free agent.
Mbappé opted not to trigger the option to extend his contract until 2025, allowing him to become a free agent next summer. Now the question is, what will the winger do?
