Inzaghi trying to get rid of Benzema?

The Saudis have not been as active or as extravagant this summer as they were in previous years, which is understandable. In the first wave of the football storm, they attracted big names with huge contracts and transfer fees. They then shifted their focus toward cheaper, younger players, and now they are competing for players in their prime who are established internationals for Europe’s strongest national teams. Al Hilal are following that logic and will try to seriously shake up the transfer market over the next two weeks with two major signings. The Saudi giants have Pedro Neto of Chelsea and Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa in their sights.🚨 JUST IN: Karim Benzema is expected to LEAVE Al-Hilal. It is complicated situation but he can then sign with whoever he wants. @SkySports pic.twitter.com/67byNWP87W— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) August 17, 2026 First, it is worth recalling the rules regarding the number of foreign players in the Saudi Pro League. Each club is allowed to register 10 foreign players, two of whom must be "bonuses", meaning players born in 2005 or later. A maximum of eight foreign players can be on the pitch at the same time, regardless of their age. Over the past year, Al Hilal have invested heavily in their bonus players. They have spent a total of 80,000,000 euros on the transfers of Turkish centre-back Yusuf Akcicek from Fenerbahçe, French midfielder Siamoua Bouabre from Neom and striker Kader Meïte from Rennes. That leaves eight places for foreign players who are not subject to the age restriction.Is Chelsea exaggerating? Give them £100 million and you'll get Pedro NetoAt the moment, six of those spots are spoken for. Goalkeeper Bono, centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, and midfielders Sergej Milinković-Savic and Ruben Neves have all extended their contracts and form the backbone of the team. Theo Hernandez is also certain to stay, as is the club's biggest summer signing, Crysencio Summerville, who cost 64,500,000 euros from Leeds. That leaves two places, while the other foreign players currently on the books are Karim Benzema, Malcom, Darwin Nunez and Joao Cancelo. The Portuguese terminated his contract and will sign for Barcelona, while the Uruguayan is heading for a loan move to Trabzonspor. Al Hilal still need to find a solution for Malcom and Benzema. There are offers from other Saudi clubs for the Brazilian, and he has no objection to a loan as long as he is guaranteed the 18,000,000 euros in salary stipulated in his current contract. Newly promoted Al Diriyah are ready to reach an agreement and take Malcom off Al Hilal's hands. The biggest headache, however, is Benzema…Mr. Miss continues journey around the world – Nunez heading to America?He arrived from rivals Al Ittihad in January as a major signing and still has one year remaining on his contract. The problem is that his deal is not purely a football contract. When he moved from Real Madrid to Al Ittihad, Benzema signed an agreement worth 100,000,000 euros per year with the club, the league and the state. In addition to his football salary, the package includes even greater earnings for his role as a marketing figure and ambassador for the league. His actual football salary is 42,000,000 euros per year, and Al Hilal could potentially afford to pay that part simply to get rid of him. The problem is the rest of the money. Coach Simone Inzaghi wants Benzema to leave, but the club's hands are tied until it receives the green light from other, more powerful authorities. Al Hilal need approval from the political leadership and the country's football authorities to get rid of Benzema. The French striker does not want to leave unless he is paid everything he is owed.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The Ministry of Sport, league officials and Al Hilal owner Alwaleed bin Talal are currently looking for a solution to untangle the financial knot surrounding Benzema, who has not exactly brought much to the club during his eight months there. If and when that issue is resolved, Al Hilal will look to fill the two vacant foreign-player slots with blockbuster signings. They considered Victor Osimhen, but Galatasaray do not even want to hear about letting their biggest star leave. Their current target up front is Ollie Watkins, the symbol of Aston Villa's success in recent years. Nobody at Villa Park had been contemplating parting ways with their leading scorer this June, but the English striker has already reached a verbal agreement with Al Hilal. Now in his thirties, he wants to secure the biggest contract of his career, following in the footsteps of compatriot Ivan Toney at Al Ahli.##NAJAVA_MECA_9894214##Everything now depends on the resolution of the Benzema situation and negotiations between Al Hilal and Aston Villa. Pedro Neto of Chelsea could take Malcom's place. He wants to leave Stamford Bridge, and Manchester City are interested, but he has also given the Saudis his verbal approval. Chelsea had valued the Portuguese winger at around 80,000,000 euros during the first part of the transfer window, while City were prepared to pay around 60,000,000 euros. However, with the Saudis entering the picture, everything has changed. Chelsea are now demanding 100,000,000 euros for the Portugal international. Two very exciting weeks lie ahead for Saudi Arabia's richest club…