Karim Benzema's Future: Options in Saudi Arabia, America, or Retirement

Karim Benzema’s time at Al-Hilal is edging towards an abrupt finish, and the clock on the summer window is only turning up the tension.

The 38-year-old is in talks with the club over terminating his contract before the deadline, a short-lived spell that began only in the last winter window now seemingly running out of road. Al-Hilal’s hierarchy are already working on an exit, even as the striker weighs up where – and how – he wants to spend the final stretch of his career.

Possible Paths

For now, three paths lie in front of him.

• The first, and currently the strongest, keeps him in Saudi Arabia. According to AS, Benzema is seriously considering staying in the Saudi Pro League, with a return to Al-Ittihad on the table. He has already worn their colours and knows the environment, a factor that could carry weight at this stage of his career. Al-Shabab are also in the frame, with a move there in the coming weeks another realistic scenario.
• The second is a leap across the Atlantic. A switch to the American league has emerged as the clearest alternative if he walks away from Saudi football. The profile of the competition, the lifestyle, the growing list of big-name imports – all of it makes MLS an attractive landing spot for a player who still commands global attention.
• There is noise from elsewhere too. Reports continue to link him with a possible spell in the Scottish league, an intriguing but less defined option compared to the Saudi and American routes.

What seems almost completely off the table, at least for now, is Europe. Fabrizio Romano reports that Benzema has ruled out a return to European football, which effectively shuts down the prospect of a romantic comeback to Lyon, the club so heavily linked with him in recent months and the place where his story at the top level truly began.

Retirement hangs in the background, but only as a distant shadow rather than a decision. AS state that Benzema has no plans to walk away just yet, while Marca point out that the door to retirement has not been fully closed. Every possibility remains technically open, even if his own instinct still appears to lean towards playing on.

So the situation is clear, even if the outcome is not: Al-Hilal are preparing for life without him, Benzema is not done with the game, and the next move will define the epilogue of a remarkable career.

Saudi Arabia, America, or one last unexpected twist – where does Karim Benzema write his final chapters?