Over the past month, there has been major speculation regarding the future of Karim Benzema, who has been heavily linked to a move to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League
The Frenchman even denied these links whilst talking to the press, as he claimed "Who's speaking is the internet, and reality is not the internet".
However, on Sunday morning, the news broke that these rumors were true, and Benzema had accepted a massive contract to join the Saudi side.
So at the age of 35, Benzema bids farewell to the place that he has called home for well over a decade, and the Spanish giants lose a club legend.
Benzema's career at Real Madrid has been filled with ups and downs, extreme highs and devastating lows, so let us take a look at some of the highlights of his time at the club, and some of his best achievents
Early Days
In the summer of 2009 Real Madrid were on an absolute spending spree as they brought four superstars to the Santiago Bernebau Stadium. They splashed the cash to secure deals for Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and of course Karim Benzema.
The French forward had been firing in goals left, right and center in Ligue 1 for Lyon, which led Real Madrid to sign him for a fee of 35 million Euros.
Benzema's first campaign in Spain was below par, as his side finished the season as La Liga runners-up, and were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16.
Despite having a slow start in Madrid, the best was yet to come from Benzema. He formed a deadly duo with Ronaldo, and eventually this turned into a trio with the arrival of Gareth Bale.
These three attackers would dominate European football until Ronaldo's departure in 2018. The arrival of Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo would be the start of a new era for Real Madrid.
Achievements and Individual Honours
There are only a handful of players who have even won half of the silverware that Benzema has won at an individual and club level.
Real Madrid is regarded by many as the largest football club on the planet and following their Copa Del Rey victory a few weeks back, Benzema holds the title of being the most decorated player in the club's history, along with his former teammate Marcelo.
The pair have won 25 titles at Real Madrid and played a major part in all of these titles.
Benzema has won the Champions League 5 times, the Copa Del Rey 3 times and he is also a 4 time La Liga champion. This is without even mentioning the individual awards that Benzema has won.
He has received the French Footballer of the Year award on 4 separate occasions as well as Real Madrid's Player of the Year on various occasions, and then who could forget his spectacular 2021/22 season which earned him the Ballon D'or.
There have been many more honours given to Benzema over the course of his remarkable career, but these are just some of the highlights of his trophy cabinet.
An Unforgettable Legacy
In his time at Real Madrid, Benzema has written his name in the history books of this prestigious club.
He is the club's second highest goalscorer of all time with 354 Goals, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
In Real Madrid's top goalscoring charts he is ahead of absolute club legends, such as Raul Gonzalez, Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano. This in itself represents how important Benzema has been in Real Madrid's history.
Despite Benzema boasting such an incredible goalscoring tally, he is much more than just a goalscorer. He has often been in positions where he was overshadowed by stars such as Ronaldo, and he had to be the creator of the attack.
Benzema has flourished in his last few years at Real Madrid, and it is clear that he will always be remembered as one of the greatest players in the club's history.