{"id":31862,"date":"2025-03-22T14:45:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T13:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=31862"},"modified":"2025-03-22T14:45:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T13:45:55","slug":"real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema has opened up about his plans for life after football. The 2022 Ballon d&rsquo;Or winner expressed a heartfelt desire to return to the club that shaped his iconic career. Benzema ended his remarkable 14-year stint at the Santiago Bernab&eacute;u in 2023, departing with a staggering 25 trophies, including five UEFA Champions League titles. <\/p><p>During his time in the Spanish capital, Benzema evolved from a promising young talent to one of the game&rsquo;s most respected forwards, cementing his place among the all-time greats in Real Madrid history.<\/p><p>Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad, the 37-year-old striker continues to compete at a high level. Speaking on the Spanish show Los Amigos de Edu, hosted by journalist Edu Aguirre, the French striker shared his long-term vision of reuniting with Los Blancos in some capacity once he hangs up his boots.<\/p><p>&ldquo;<em>When I retire I want to be close to football,<\/em>&rdquo; Benzema revealed.<\/p><p><strong>ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/vinicius-jr-to-saudi-arabia-real-madrid-superstar-to-have-an-exit-clause-in-new-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Vinicius Jr. to Saudi Arabia? Real Madrid Superstar To Have an Exit Clause in New Contract<\/a><\/strong><\/p><p><em>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, this is something that seems more complicated to me than being a player,&rdquo; Benzema said before adding, &ldquo;What I want is to be close to [Real Madrid President] Florentino [Perez] when I retire.<\/em> <em>I was recently with him [Perez] in Madrid<\/em>.&rdquo;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680; JUST IN: Karim Benzema wants to COME BACK to Real Madrid and work for the club as soon as he retires. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/relevo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@relevo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Pzc7R3m9vX\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/Pzc7R3m9vX<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theMadridZone\/status\/1903234844856836179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>March 21, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>&ldquo;<em>Florentino was the first person I called when I decided I was leaving. The truth is that he didn&rsquo;t quite understand it, but I told him that youngsters like Vinicius and Rodrygo were already ready<\/em>,&rdquo; Benzema concluded.<\/p><p>Benzema stepped away from international football in 2022, bringing the curtain down on a career with France that spanned over a decade. His final appearance for Les Bleus came shortly before the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Over the course of 97 international appearances, Benzema netted 37 goals for his country.<\/p><p>While Benzema didn&rsquo;t specify what role he might take on, his comments signalled a strong emotional connection to Real. For many Madridistas, a Benzema return, even off the pitch, would be a welcome continuation of his legendary legacy. <\/p><p><\/p><p><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4038],"tags":[4980,3904],"class_list":["post-31862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soccer","tag-karim-benzema","tag-real-madrid"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-22T14:45:55+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Ronaldo-and-Benzema.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"828\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"552\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abhinav Goel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abhinav Goel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abhinav Goel\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/560f53c1b7b036779d2efecc3dc9bc35\"},\"headline\":\"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-22T13:45:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-22T13:45:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Karim Benzema\",\"Real Madrid\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Soccer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\",\"name\":\"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-22T13:45:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-22T13:45:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"description\":\"Share passion for sports &amp; betting\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"width\":415,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"The Playoffs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/560f53c1b7b036779d2efecc3dc9bc35\",\"name\":\"Abhinav Goel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6424122a12451a65543acb90873f966?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6424122a12451a65543acb90873f966?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Abhinav Goel\"},\"description\":\"I am a soccer writer at The PlayOffs, covering everything from match analysis to transfer buzz and tactical deep dives. Ever since I was a kid, soccer has been more than just a sport to me\u2014it\u2019s been an obsession. Playing and watching the game from a young age fueled my passion, eventually leading me into the world of sports media and betting. Now, I get to analyze the sport I love and bring the latest updates to fans worldwide. The best part of my job is staying as close as possible to the beautiful game. From the intensity of matchdays to the drama of the transfer market, every moment keeps me hooked. To all the readers out there \u2014 soccer is unpredictable, chaotic, and often heartbreaking just like our lives. But that\u2019s what makes it beautiful. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/s.p.o.r.t.s.m.a.n.i.a\/?hl=en\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/abhinav\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs","description":"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs","og_description":"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.","og_url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/","og_site_name":"The Playoffs","article_modified_time":"2025-03-22T13:45:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":828,"height":552,"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Ronaldo-and-Benzema.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Abhinav Goel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_site":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Abhinav Goel","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/"},"author":{"name":"Abhinav Goel","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/560f53c1b7b036779d2efecc3dc9bc35"},"headline":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club","datePublished":"2025-03-22T13:45:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-22T13:45:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/"},"wordCount":360,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"keywords":["Karim Benzema","Real Madrid"],"articleSection":["Soccer"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/","name":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club - The Playoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-22T13:45:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-22T13:45:55+00:00","description":"Currently plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League, the former Real Madrid star continues to compete at a high level.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/real-madrid-legend-reveals-plans-to-return-to-club\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Real Madrid Legend Reveals Plans To Return to Club"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","name":"The Playoffs","description":"Share passion for sports &amp; betting","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization","name":"The Playoffs","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","width":415,"height":280,"caption":"The Playoffs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/560f53c1b7b036779d2efecc3dc9bc35","name":"Abhinav Goel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6424122a12451a65543acb90873f966?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6424122a12451a65543acb90873f966?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Abhinav Goel"},"description":"I am a soccer writer at The PlayOffs, covering everything from match analysis to transfer buzz and tactical deep dives. Ever since I was a kid, soccer has been more than just a sport to me\u2014it\u2019s been an obsession. Playing and watching the game from a young age fueled my passion, eventually leading me into the world of sports media and betting. Now, I get to analyze the sport I love and bring the latest updates to fans worldwide. The best part of my job is staying as close as possible to the beautiful game. From the intensity of matchdays to the drama of the transfer market, every moment keeps me hooked. To all the readers out there \u2014 soccer is unpredictable, chaotic, and often heartbreaking just like our lives. But that\u2019s what makes it beautiful. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/s.p.o.r.t.s.m.a.n.i.a\/?hl=en"],"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/abhinav\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31862"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31988,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31862\/revisions\/31988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}