Everything started with Cristiano Ronaldo a year and a half ago, and last summer, Saudi clubs caused an earthquake in the football market by bringing in several high-profile names.Four biggest clubs were in the forefront: Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, and Al-Ahli. While it can be said that Al-Hilal’s investments (champions), Al-Nassr’s (second-placed), and Al-Ahli’s (third-placed) have yielded some results, Al-Ittihad’s season has turned out to be a debacle. They only finished sixth place in the Saudi championship.The club that brought in Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho, as well as some lesser-known names like Luiz Felipe or Jota, had results below all expectations. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo was first to feel the wrath of the owners, then his successor Marcelo Gallardo. The club was practically managed by Benzema, who behaved as he wanted and changed coaches.Ronaldo and Ederson to become teammates?Although he scored only nine goals, his status at Al-Ittihad is not disputed, so he will play an important role in major decisions this summer. Recently, Al-Ittihad arranged the arrival of Italian coach Stefano Pioli and Belgian stopper Arthur Theate, but Benzema rebelled and everything collapsed. Moreover, he chose a coach to his liking. His compatriot Laurent Blanc, who was his coach in the national team before Didier Deschamps, is coming to the Al-Ittihad bench.Benzema will also influence the bringing of reinforcements. Al-Ittihad started negotiations with his friend from the Real Madrid days, Casemiro. The Frenchman insists on bringing his former teammate from Santiago Bernabeu, and Manchester United has nothing against it if he can get most of the invested funds. Casemiro has a strong contract until 2026, and he hasn’t shown much. They are currently working on convincing the Brazilian to accept a move to Saudi Arabia, and we know what the strongest arguments are for that.##NAJAVA_MECA_8210019##He will not be Al-Ittihad’s only signing. Last night, the news spread that the club from Jeddah has a verbal agreement with two more Frenchmen: Moussa Diaby from Aston Villa and Houssem Aouar from Roma. The hardest part of the job remains to get the Saudis to agree with the players’ current clubs. Aston Villa paid as much as 55,000,000 euros to Leverkusen for Diaby this summer and they will want similar money. Aouar also gave the green light, so now the Al-Ittihad owners are waiting for Roma to respond. About 15,000,000 euros will be enough for Al-Ittihad to get the consent of the Roman club where the former Lyon gem did not do well.Finally, a capital boost could come from Paris. Al-Ittihad contacted Marquinhos and received positive signals that the Brazilian is ready for a transfer to the Arabian Peninsula. However, PSG has so far shown no intention of parting with the captain, so everything will depend on the attitude of the Qataris at the head of the club and coach Luis Enrique.🇸🇦📍En cas d’arrivée d’Hossam Aouar à l’Etihad🤝 Karim Benzema sera l’une des clés du changement. Karim Benzema sera l’un des facteurs les plus importants. Benzema est celui qui a suggéré le joueur à la direction de l’Etihad pour le signer pic.twitter.com/pxZ3qc5bCz— Proof Koora (@KooraProof) July 11, 2024
