Al Ittihad's contract offer that they tabled to Karim Benzema has left the Frenchman 'disrespected' and he's now assessing all his options.

The Ballon d'Or winner has been among the big names to make a lucrative move from Europe to Saudi Arabia, leaving Real Madrid, but he is out of contract in the summer.

The 38-year-old was unhappy with the offer put to him by the Saudis and ESPN reports that he decided to take himself out of the first-team squad and is training on his own. The deal that he was offered came from the Saudi Pro League, who handle the contracts of the main players in PIF-owned clubs, and would basically mean he would nearly be playing for free.

Benzema has scored eight times in 14 appearances this term, but any possible exit could have huge ramifications. He's not the only big name who could leave the Middle East.

French winger Moussa Diaby is rumoured to be leaving the club and two-time Premier League winner N'Golo Kante is "very close" to agreeing terms with Fenerbahce. These big name exits will give clubs like Al Ittihad the financial scope to go after some of Europe's biggest names - Mohamed Salah among them.

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Clubs in Saudi have long been linked with Salah and, more recently, Vinicius Jnr, who has been linked with a Real Madrid exit. This week Ousmane Dembele has been touted as a target. They want to land more big names and notable departures from their league gives them added motivation and financial headroom.

Al-Ittihad tried to sign Salah two years ago and are among those who are strongly interested again, but currently do not have the room to do a deal. That could all change if the likes of Benzema and Kante leave the club.

Salah signed a new Liverpool contract last season, resulting in him landing huge wages, but his form has tailed off this season and he's yet to hit double figures for goals. As a result he's been taken out of the starting XI on occasion but fuelled talk of an exit where he let rip at the club and Arne Slot.

"I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season," he said. "Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus."

He also added: "I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don't have any relationship. I don't know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn't want me in the club."

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