Karim Benzema made headlines off the pitch on Sunday after firing Al Ittihad closer to the Saudi Pro League title and delivering a cold response when asked about the Golden Boot race currently led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The French striker found the net in Al Ittihad’s tense 3-2 win over Al Ettifaq, pushing his season tally to 18 goals, just five behind Ronaldo, who tops the chart with 23 for Al Nassr. But when quizzed about his chase for the league’s top scorer honour, Benzema dismissed it with trademark chill:
“I don’t care about this, my friend. The most important thing is the trophy.”
With only a handful of matches left, Al Ittihad now sit on 68 points from 29 games, holding a six-point cushion over second-place Al Hilal and keeping Al Nassr at bay on 58 points. While the race for the SPL title tightens, so does the goal-scoring battle, with Ivan Toney and Abderrazak Hamdallah also in the mix.
Ronaldo has more goals than you, can you win the golden boot?”
— MugFPL (@PandaNoComply) April 22, 2025
Benzema: “I don’t care about this my friend, the most important thing is the trophy.”
😭😭😭😭😭
pic.twitter.com/VZKdPg3ovH
The tension is set to hit fever pitch on May 7, when Al Ittihad face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in what could be a title-defining clash and a potential showdown in the Golden Boot race too.
Before then, all eyes shift to Ronaldo’s next outing as Al Nassr take on Yokohama F. Marinos in the AFC Champions League this Sunday.
As the SPL season nears its climax, it’s clear Benzema has one thing on his mind: silverware over stats.
