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- Al-Ittihad boss Marcelo Gallardo has excldued him from the mid-season camp
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Karim Benzema has reportedly been left out of Al-Ittihad’s mid-season training camp after repeatedly failing to report for duty – but his corner claim he is trapped by a cyclone.
The striker missed three training sessions before Al-Ittihad disbanded for the winter break and was not present at the squad’s reunion on Friday.
He has subsequently been excluded from their list of players going to Dubai, but his camp insist that he is stuck in Mauritius, where he was on holiday, due to a tropical storm.
Mauritius is currently under a cyclone class one (out of four) warning due to tropical storm Belal, with conditions expected to intensify.
However, MARCA reports that Benzema is nevertheless ‘in the bad books’ of his manager Marcelo Gallardo.
Al-Ittihad feel that the 26-year-old should have been back in Saudi Arabia by Friday, the Spanish newspaper claims, instead of leaving it this late.
It has been a rocky start for Benzema in Saudi Arabia after leaving Real Madrid and signing a three-year deal worth £258million.
While the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner has scored a respectable 15 goals in 24 games, Al-Ittihad sit seventh in the Saudi Pro League after winning the title last season.
Benzema has been reportedly been nicknamed ‘Ben-Hazima’ – which translates to ‘the son of defeat’ – by his own fans.
He was booed by Al-Ittihad supporters after a 5-2 defeat at home to Al-Nassr in December, when he was outshone by Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, who both scored twice.
Benzema appeared to delete his Instagram account, which had 76 million followers, in the wake of the loss.
Al-Ittihad are 25 points off league leaders Al-Hilal and are much closer to the relegation zone than top spot, showing how much the wheels have come off Benzema’s expensive journey in the Middle East so far.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
