Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has reportedly turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia in favour of signing a new contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 35-year-old is yet to extend his Bernabeu contract beyond the end of the season and could depart on a free transfer in three months' time as things stand.
Benzema is widely expected to agree to a short-term renewal with Los Blancos, but he would not be short of international offers if talks fail to lead to a breakthrough.
According to Marca, an unnamed Saudi Arabian club would have been prepared to offer the Ballon d'Or winner a mammoth salary to make the move to the Pro League, but he has closed the door on that idea for now.
The report adds that Benzema remains fully committed to Real Madrid, and he is on the brink of agreeing a new deal until the summer of 2024.
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The former Lyon man is already said to have struck a verbal agreement to extend his Bernabeu stay, and he has informed his Saudi Arabian counterparts of his decision.
Nevertheless, Benzema is still said to enjoy a wholly positive relationship with the Saudi authorities, and there is still the possibility of him making the move to the Pro League in 2024 or later.
As well as receiving an extortionate salary, Benzema has supposedly discussed the idea of opening a football academy in Saudi Arabia with his name and image, but there is an unwritten rule at Real Madrid where a player who receives the Ballon d'Or will have his contract extended.
Benzema has struggled with a spate of muscular injuries during the 2022-23 campaign, but the ex-France international has remained as clinical as ever in front of goal when fully fit.
Benzema boasts 25 goals and six assists from 32 matches in the current season, scoring 14 goals from 18 La Liga fixtures - only Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (17) has more.
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The marksman will soon celebrate his 14th anniversary as a Real Madrid player, having left Lyon in a £30.7m deal in 2009, and he has since posted 348 goals and 165 assists in 637 appearances in all tournaments.
Benzema is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (450) in the club's all-time goalscoring charts, while he sits sixth in their all-time appearance list, which is topped by Raul (741).
The 35-year-old has won a total of 24 major honours with Real Madrid, including five Champions League titles, and he is expected to start in Wednesday's quarter-final first leg against Chelsea for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Benzema will turn 37 in 2024, though, and Real will be expected to enter the market for a successor if he is not rewarded with another short-term extension.
All of Harry Kane, Erling Braut Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Gabriel Jesus have been tipped to take the reins from Benzema when the striker calls time on his Madrid career.
Ben Knapton
