Fans nickname Benzema 'son of defeat' after 5-2 Ronaldo thrashing

Karim Benzema‘s move to Saudi Arabia appears to be going from bad to worse, going by the nickname he has reportedly been given by his own fans.

The Real Madrid legend was one of many top European players that moved to the Saudi Pro League in the summer, joining Al-Ittihad for £86 million per year.

There were high hopes for the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, who joined a team that won the Premier League title last season and teamed with two of the top Premier League midfielders in recent years, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho.

However, a 5-2 Boxing Day loss to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr has dropped them 22 points behind leaders Al-Hilal after 18 games.

According to the French newspaper L’Equipe, Benzema’s admirers have given him the nickname “Ben-Hazima,” which translates to “the son of defeat” in Arabic.

Al-Ittihad has already endured six defeats this season, four more than they did in the entire 2022–23 season.

They are sixth in the table and have lost four of their past five games across all competitions. They were also eliminated from the FIFA Club World Cup in the second round after losing to Al Ahly.

As a result of their “relentless” criticism of the underachieving side, fans have turned on Benzema, as evidenced by their cruel nickname.

Al-Ittihad fans booed after their team was defeated by Al-Nassr in a game in which former teammate Ronaldo and Sadio Mane both scored braces.

Al-Ittihad had taken a 1-0 lead with Benzema’s assist, only for the game to flip in their opponent’s favor when he gave away a penalty, resulting in Ronaldo’s equalizer.

Saudi pundits slammed manager Marcelo Gallardo, with commentator Hatem Khaimi telling reporters, “The ejection and penalty kick made the match one-sided, and Gallardo helped achieve that by removing Cornado and keeping Benzema on.”

Following the loss, Benzema appeared to delete his Instagram account, which has 76 million followers.

His Instagram account now displays a warning stating that the “page isn’t available” and that “the link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”

This implies that Benzema has either deleted or temporarily stopped his Instagram account.

Benzema has come under fire in Saudi Arabia after scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 14 appearances.

Al-Ittihad, last season’s champions, fired their title-winning manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, in the middle of the season after a disagreement with Benzema.

According to Goal, the club’s fans have also accused the Frenchman of being “lazy” and “unwilling'” to play his part in the play-making process.

Meanwhile, according to talkSPORT, a Saudi reporter stated that Benzema makes no effort” and has “offered nothing.”

“The divide between Benzema and the people is widening day by day,” said Walid Al-Farraj. He didn’t play and didn’t make a single difference. Above all, he makes no effort, as if to say to the audience, “I’m just having fun with you.”

“When Ronaldo arrived in January, he showed signs that he wanted to play, but Benzema offered nothing. It’s like the team doesn’t like him. He is uncomfortable. I don’t know the reason.”

Ronaldo, who has been in Saudi Arabia for a year, has outperformed the player with whom he shared a prolific connection at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ronaldo has scored 23 goals and supplied 11 assists in 24 games this season, and the Portuguese icon leads the Saudi Pro League scoring lists at the age of 38 with 19 goals.