*This content was translated by AI.
Saudi Arabian professional football club Al-Hilal has recruited Karim Benzema (39), who played for Real Madrid and others.
The Al Hilal club officially announced the recruitment of Benzema on its official channel on the 3rd (Korea Standard Time). According to Transfermarkt, a transfer site, the transfer fee is 25 million euros (about 42.8 billion won), and the contract period is 1 year and 6 months.
Benzema, who also won the Ballon d'Or in 2022, left Real Madrid for RT Hard in 2023 and headed to the Saudi league, scoring 57 goals in 87 games.
However, Benzema, who recently fell out with RT Hard due to contract-related issues, pushed for a transfer to another team and later built a new nest in Al Hilal.
By recruiting Benzema, Al-Hilal raised the already spectacular squad to a level of "super luxury."
Al-Hilal, which boosted its power by embracing a large number of players who were active in Europe, was a team that beat Manchester City at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 last year and made the quarterfinals a sensation.
Although he was eliminated from the semifinals in the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE), he was also a team that won 7-0 against Gwangju FC led by then-current Suwon Samsung coach Lee Jung-hyo in the quarterfinals.
Al-Hilal, which Benzema joined, will be joined by Darwin Núñez from Liverpool, Maucong and Marcus Leonardo from Brazil, and Salem Aldausari from Saudi Arabia.
Others include Serbian national team Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, who played for Lazio, Portugal's current national team Huven Neves from Wolverhampton, center back Kalidou Koulibaly, Real Madrid and AC Milan, and Morocco's national goalkeeper Yasin Bunu.
Al Hilal, who did not reach the top of Asia last season, confirmed his advance to the round of 16 tournaments early in this season's ACLE by winning all six league stages in West Asia. Al-Hilal is the only team that has passed the ACLE League stage throughout East and West Asia.
In the meantime, by strengthening its power further by joining Benzema, Al-Hilal will further strengthen his position as the leading candidate for ACLE this season. It is also bittersweet news for K-League teams seeking the top in Asia.
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*This content was translated by AI.
