According to the English press, a message sent by Karim Benzema, then leaving for Al-Hilal, would have accentuated Cristiano Ronaldo’s discomfort and fueled his standoff with the management of Al-Nassr.
A simple private message would have ignited the powder. According to several corroborating sources, an SMS sent by Karim Benzema would have contributed to weakening Cristiano Ronaldo’s state of mind and precipitating the standoff initiated by the Portuguese star with Al-Nassr. The information emerged following the departure of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad in January, after tensions with his environment. The French striker finally joined Riyadh on the last day of the transfer window, leaving Jeddah and the outgoing champion club to sign with Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr’s direct rival.
Already upset by the closure of the transfer market, Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play his team’s last two matches, a gesture interpreted as a disguised strike. According to The Telegraphthis decision would have come after receiving a message from Benzema, while his transfer to Al-Hilal was about to be finalized. According to a source close to the matter, the former Ballon d’Or would have informed Ronaldo of his imminent arrival at the Riyadh Blues, not without a touch of humor. Benzema would have mentioned in particular a salary increase and the prospect of winning the champion title. A joke poorly received by Ronaldo, who would have seen in this movement a clear imbalance between the ambitions of the two clubs.
The Portuguese international would have tried, unsuccessfully, to hinder this transfer. Believing he was being treated unfairly by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), he then chose to express his dissatisfaction by withdrawing. Ronaldo would have particularly criticized his management for a transfer window deemed insufficient, Al-Nassr having only enlisted Hayder AbdulKareem and Abdullah Al-Hamdan, far from the prestigious reinforcements attracted by Al-Hilal, including Benzema, Mohamed Kader Meïté and the experienced defender Pablo Marí.
According to the same sources, Cristiano Ronaldo would have sent a list of demands to his management to put an end to his movement. In the absence of guarantees, the five-time Ballon d’Or would not rule out an early departure, despite a contract still running for two seasons.
date: 2026-02-10 11:03:00