After losing to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, the unexpected decision made by Benzema

Last Tuesday Al-Ittihad suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat against Al-Nassr in the Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo stood out with two goals, as did Sadio Mane, and that was too much for them, who also had to play for most of the second half with 10 players due to Fabinho's red card.

That result left Al-Ittihad in a difficult situation in the Pro League: they are now in sixth place in the standings with 28 points, 22 behind leaders Al-Hilal and 15 behind Al-Nassr. This is far from expectations, considering that in the previous season they were champions of the tournament and that allowed them to play in the Club World Cup just a week ago. There they also failed, as they beat Auckland City 3-0 in the first round but then lost 3-1 to Al-Ahly of Egypt and were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The disappointing level of the team has angered the fans, who in recent weeks have strongly criticized new coach Marcelo Gallardo, but especially the players. And one of the main targets was Karim Benzema. The former Real Madrid striker is the team's star player (as evidenced by his impressive $200 million salary) and has scored 12 goals in 20 games this season, but lately his performances have been far from expectations.

Faced with this situation, the French player made an unexpected decision: he closed his official Instagram account. There he had more than 76 million followers and usually shared pictures of his professional career and his life in Saudi Arabia. While it is not clear if it is a temporary or final decision, it certainly shows that things are not going well for him lately.

They have a new opportunity

Al-Ittihad will play their last game in 2023 this Saturday. On matchday 19 of the Pro League, they will face Al Ta'ee, one of the weakest teams in the tournament. It will be an ideal opportunity for Karim Benzema and his teammates to show a good performance and get a victory that will allow them to get closer to the top of the standings.