“Lazy” Karim Benzema deletes all his social media accounts after harsh criticism: “It's as if the team doesn't like him” | Foreign football

With great fanfare, Benzema arrived in Saudi Arabia last summer. Following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo last year, he was the second global star to make a name for himself in the Saudi Professional League. Like Ronaldo, Benzema should become the poster boy for the Saudi Professional League. With a huge salary of €6.36 per second (about €200 million per year), there were some sporting expectations.

Five months later, the Frenchman has failed to live up to those high expectations. Fans are subjecting him to severe criticism, especially on social media. Last Tuesday it all became too much for him. Benzema and his Al-Ittihad team suffered a severe defeat against Al-Nasr and Cristiano Ronaldo. The score was 2-5, with two goals by the Portuguese star.

The meeting of the two Real Madrid legends was disappointing. Benzema provided the assist in the 1-0 scoreline, but was invisible with only one shot on target. The Frenchman received a lot of criticism on social media. The nickname “Ben Hazma”, which means “Son of Defeat” in Spanish, appeared everywhere. The French striker was fed up with the constant stream of criticism and decided to delete his Instagram account, which has millions of followers. He also hasn't been active on 'X' for a while. His last thing tweet It is dated December 5th.

said Walid Al-Faraj, one of the most famous sports journalists in Saudi Arabia Action Afik Walid The popularity of rush hour is decreasing every day. “Saudi Arabia seemed like the perfect haven for the Frenchman because of its culture, religion and level of competition, but in the end he was never able to make a difference here. He doesn't make any effort to do so. It's as if the team doesn't like him. He feels uncomfortable, and I don't know the reason”.

At the beginning of the season, there was also a dispute between Benzema and coach Nuno Espirito Santo. It even cost the Portuguese his job. According to Saudi media, Espirito Santo accused his attacker of laziness.

Al-Ittihad ranks sixth in the standings, but no longer has any chance of winning the title. The difference with leaders Al Hilal is already 22 points. Benzema scored twelve goals in twenty matches.