Al Ittihad head coach Sergio Conceicao has given a surprise take on Karim Benzema’s refusal to play.
L’Equipe report that the French Ballon d’Or player has withdrawn from the team over an ‘insulting’ contract extension offer ahead of becoming a free agent in the summer.
In Ittihad’s first game since the announcement they continued their poor form with a 2-2 draw against Al Fateh, but Conceicao was looking at the positives.
The former Porto coach said: “What I can say is that Karim, who has scored 13 goals in 17 games with me, is an excellent professional, a fantastic player that I am proud to coach.
“But I must say that today the team played extremely well, and Saleh Al-Shehri, who played, had a good game, scored two goals, and it is a good thing for the Saudi national team to have a player like him.”
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