Karim Benzema frozen out of Al-Ittihad's AFC Champions League squad: Report

The Frenchman won’t be allowed to participate in AFCON Champions League

Since he was left out of Al-Ittihad’s AFC Champions League roster, Karim Benzema and the Saudi Pro League club have been embroiled in an ongoing rivalry.

The ex-Real Madrid forward is believed to have been left out of manager Marcelo Gallardo’s AFC Champions League roster before the team’s round of 16 match this week, according to the French publication L’Equipe.

Following receiving club sanction, Benzema resumed training following an unapproved leave of absence from the team. After that, the forward participated in the first portion of the workout but was instructed to practice alone for the second. When the event happened, Gallardo stated, “His return depends on himself and his physical condition.”

After Benzema was strongly linked to leaving the team during the January transfer window, tensions between him and the team are still high. He did, however, stay at Al-Ittihad over the cutoff and has subsequently reaffirmed his dedication to the team.

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The 36-year-old Benzema will now watch from the bench as he is not selected for the team for Thursday’s match against Navbahor Namangan of Uzbekistan. Benzema has missed the previous two matches due to injury.

On the contrary, ex-River Plate coach Gallardo has selected Ahmed Hegazy, N’Golo Kanté, Fabinho, Romarinho, and Abderrazak Hamdallah as the five foreign players for the match.

This season, the Frenchman has made 15 appearances in the Saudi Pro League, tallying five assists and nine goals. According to last week’s GFFN report, the striker’s alleged poor performance and absence of participation in training appear to be causing friction between the coach and the player.

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