Al Hilal: Behind the scenes of Karim Benzema's arrival revealed

New details have emerged about Karim Benzema’s stunning transfer to Al Hilal.

Karim Benzema’s departure from Al-Ittihad and his decision to sign with Al Hilal have set Saudi Arabia abuzz in recent days. In this whirlwind saga, everything happened incredibly quickly, as Al Hilal’s executive director Esteve Calzada explains.

"For his qualities, even though he’s 38! He was available, we seized the opportunity and we’re absolutely delighted. We’d rather not go into the details, but Karim still wanted to compete for a top club—one that’s not only dominant in Saudi Arabia but also across Asia (Al Hilal reached the Club World Cup quarterfinals last year). We managed to pull off this transfer extremely quickly; everything was wrapped up in 48 hours. It’s a sporting decision, but it’s also tied to major commercial projects," he explained to L’Équipe.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.