Karim Benzema is back at former club Real Madrid in a bid to help him get over recent injury concerns.
The legendary Frenchman, who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or, joined Al Ittihad on a lucrative three-year contract last summer, sparking a mass exodus of some of European football’s best players to the riches of the Middle East.
But Benzema’s debut campaign in Saudi Arabia has been anything but ideal. Amid rumours of a falling out with manager Marcelo Gallardo, he has struggled to stay fit and string together a consistent run of appearances – with his absence contributing to Al Ittihad’s struggles in the league.
Benzema has totalled 21 goal contributions in 29 outings – individually impressive numbers – but Al Ittihad are 30 points behind rivals Al Hilal, whose playing squad boasts the likes of Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. They also have Neymar on their books, though he has played just three games after succumbing to an ACL tear in October.
Now, in a bid to cure Benzema of his injury problems, Al Ittihad have confirmed that the 36-year-old has returned to Madrid for further treatment.
The only striker of his generation to win Ballon d’Or.
“Karim Benzema is undergoing further examinations in Real Madrid’s clinic with his former doctor in Spain, who supervised his care in previous years,” Al Ittihad wrote in a statement.
“The consultations were arranged between Ittihad’s medical teams and Real Madrid regarding Benzema’s injuries, which caused him to miss key matches this season. Benzema has already left for Spain and is expected to return next week.”
Benzema’s storied 14-year Real Madrid tenure saw him win every available honour in the game, topped off by his Ballon d’Or success in 2022. That honour was bestowed upon him after an incredible 2021/22 campaign saw score 44 goals en route to winning a La Liga, Champions League and Club World Cup treble, as well as the Pichichi Trophy (the award for most goals scored in La Liga).
He’d already won four Champions Leagues prior to those successes, including three in a row under the management of Zinedine Zidane.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admits his side are not playing the style of football he'd like, and has attributed their struggles to the extraordinary amount of injuries to players in key positions.
The mood at Old Trafford was lifted by a successful first season for Ten Hag, which saw the Red Devils end a six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing narrowly to neighbourhood rivals Manchester City, and qualified for the Champions League thanks to a third-place Premier League finish.
But United haven't been able to kick on this season, despite spending a decent chunk of money on new signings, and Ten Hag's position as manager has repeatedly been called into question.
There is hope that INEOS' investment into the club will improve United's off the field activity, though it's not yet clear whether Ten Hag will be the manager backed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take the club forward.
Judging by Ten Hag's latest comments, in an interview with Sky Sports, he appears confident that he'll be in charge next year, and calmly explained why he thinks United's struggles can be attributed to factors out of his control.
"Frustration [at the style of play not working] is not the right word because I'm a realistic man," he said. "Last year when I came in, you make your adjustments but at the end of the day, it's about winning games. From last year, we found a way to make a very successful team.
"This year, we wanted to make the next step. We bought in a goalkeeper who can play out from the back, a dynamic midfielder in Mason Mount - who has been injured all season - and a goalscorer in Hojlund who is young and needed the time.
"On one hand, we were quite confident we made the right choices and we can make the next step. But all the injuries are coming and we made so many changes in some positions like the back four.
"We've now played 47 games and we had 30 combinations in the back four. They weren't from choices you make, they were forced choices because the players were injured⌠anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about football, they will know it will have a huge impact.
"Then Casemiro was injured for a long period. We had so many issues in the team that you can't always play the way you want to play.
"But the fans want to see a successful team, a team that's winning. What we always try to do, and it's a compliment to the team, in every game, they went for it and they had a spirit.
"We make the adjustments a little bit in our way of play because when you don't have a left-footed centre back or on the left side in the full-back position, you have to make adjustments you want to play, so we did.
"We are not where we want to be with the way we want to play, but the headlines are still there because we want to be proactive, be dynamic and we want to play with a high line. That's what we always aim for."
United will not feature in next season's Champions League, with a fifth-place finish the best they can now achieve, but will again appear in the FA Cup final against Manchester City after narrowly seeing off Championship side Coventry City in a thrilling semi-final penalty shootout.
Last week: Jake Knapp won the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Notes: The tournament again leads off the Florida swing under a new name. Cognizant takes over as title sponsor of what previously was the Honda Classic. ... Rory McIlroy is playing to beef up his pre-Masters schedule. He last played the tournament in 2018. ... Six of the seven winners on the PGA Tour this year were outside the top 50 in the world ranking. The exception was Wyndham Clark, No. 10 when he won at Pebble Beach. ... This is the last tournament for the leading top 10 in the FedEx Cup and the leading five players in âswing categoryâ to earn a spot in Bay Hill next week. ... Since turning pro after winning The American Express, U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap finished in last place at Pebble Beach and missed the cut at Riviera. He is in the field this week. ... NCAA champion Fred Biondi, who turned pro last year, received a sponsor exemption. ... The field features five of the top 25 in the world ranking.
Last week: Patty Tavatanakit won the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Notes: This is the second of three straight weeks in Asia. The HSBC Womenâs World Championship dates to 2008 and typically gets a strong field. ... Jin Young Ko is going for her third straight title in Singapore. ... Lorena Ochoa set the course record of 268 in 2008, the inaugural year of the tournament. ... The field features eight of the top 10 in the womenâs world ranking, missing only Nelly Korda and Charley Hull. ... Atthaya Thitikul, No. 11 in the world, has an injured left thumb and does not plan to return until the end of March. ... Former U.S. Womenâs Open champion In Gee Chun is playing on a sponsorâs invitation. ... Minjee Lee is in the field, playing for the first time this year on the LPGA Tour. ... Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis has named Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel as assistants for this yearâs matches in Virginia.
Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won LIV Golf Las Vegas.
Notes: Brooks Koepka is going for his third straight LIV victory in Saudi Arabia. The tournament was played in the fall the last two seasons. ... Anthony Kim is expected to make his LIV debut as an individual. Kim has not competed anywhere since May 2012 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He is now 38. ... Dustin Johnsonâs victory in Las Vegas makes him the first player to win in each of the three seasons of LIV Golf. Among those with a chance to match him this week are Koepka and Cameron Smith. ... Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Harold Varner III and Abraham Ancer have all won in Saudi Arabia outside the LIV Golf League. ... Jon Rahmâs new team is leading the standings after two events. ... Joaquin Niemann was the only LIV Golf player who received a special invitation to the Masters based on his European tour performances in the offseason. ... Patrick Reed is no longer among the top 100 in the world.
Last week: Darius van Driel won the Magical Kenya Open.
Notes: The tournament is co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour of South Africa. ... This is the second of three straight tournaments on the African continent. ... The field features only four players from the top 100 in the world. The highest-ranked player is Rikuya Hoshino, who is at No. 81. ... South Africa only has five players in the top 100 in the world. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who plays the PGA Tour, is the top-ranked South African at No. 59. ... Only two players from Nos. 126-200 in the FedEx Cup last year are in the field, Matthias Schwab and Jonas Blixt. Dylan Frittelli was in that category until winning earlier this year to get full European tour membership. ... Keita Nakajima, a former world No. 1 amateur, is in the field. He is eligible from winning the Japan Golf Tour money title last year. ... The tournament only became part of the European tour schedule last year.
Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia: New Zealand Open, Millbrook GC (Coronet and Remarkables), Arrowtown, New Zealand. Defending champion: Brendan Jones. Online: https://asiantour.com/ and https://pga.org.au/.
University of Connecticut starting quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson announced his entrance in to the transfer portal on Wednesday, the final day that football players could do so for 2024 spring transfer window.
In 2022, Roberson suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first game of the season. He bounced back healthy in 2023, playing 11 games for the Huskies and completing 197 passes on 338 attempts for 2075 yards. He threw 12 touchdowns with six interceptions while rushing for two touchdowns and catching one.
Prior to UConn, Roberson spent three seasons with Penn State where he appeared in five games. The New Jersey native was originally a four-star high school prospect in the class of 2019.
Roberson's departure comes at an interesting time given his status as the regular starter. UConn earned a commitment from former Oklahoma and Wisconsin quarterback Nick Evers committed to the Huskies on Wednesday as well. UConn also has former Maine starting quarterback Joe Fagnano on the roster. Those two should be the frontrunners for the Huskies' starting job in 2024.
UConn open the 2024 season on August 31 at Maryland.
