French striker, KARIM BENZEMA, has asked to 'temporarily' leave Saudi giants Al-Ittihad after 'being excluded from training

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 – French striker, Karim Benzema has asked to 'temporarily' leave Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ittihad.

This comes after it was reported that Benzema remains exiled from the Al-Ittihad squad, and is training alone while his teammates prepare for the resumption of the Saudi Pro League season after returning from holiday 17 days late.

Reports from France now claim that the former Real Madrid striker has requested to leave the club after feeling 'under pressure' at Al-Ittihad.

According to AFP, Al-Ittihad have since offered to loan the striker to another team in the Saudi championship, however, the idea was refused by Benzema.

The same source claimed that the 36-year-old feels 'unable to give the best of himself to Al-Ittihad because of the pressure'.

The 2022 Ballon d'Or winner angered his team, who were expecting him to report back on January 2 ahead of the side's mid-season training camp.

A source close to the club told France 24 that they had been unable to reach him for 10 days.

According to Marca, as a result, Benzema has been omitted from the trip to Dubai by manager Marcelo Gallardo and continues to gear up for the league's resumption on February 7 on his own.

The outlet claim that the 36-year-old had insisted that his tardiness was due to a cyclone that hit the island of Mauritius where he had been holidaying. However, Al-Ittihad were already angered by his absence from three training sessions prior to end of last year.

The news comes amid reports of the 36-year-old making a quick exit from the club and completing a fairytale return to his boyhood club Lyon this month.