Report: Ballon d'Or Winner Set to Retire at End of Season, with Next Venture Already in Place

The Ballon d'Or has seen little variation in winners over the past 17 years, as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have consistently claimed the prestigious award, leaving little room for other players to shine.

Rodri is the most recent winner of the Golden Ball, though, with Karim Benzema and Luka Modric both having lifted the gong to end the Messi and Ronaldo duopoly.

One of the recent winners is considering retirement now, though, with their next venture post-playing already lined up.

Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema considering hanging up boots

According to Spanish outlet Relevo, Karim Benzema is considering retiring at the end of the 2024/25 season. The report suggests that he is growing tired of having to train in the evenings in Saudi Arabia because the sun isn't as strong, while he's also mentally fatigued just simply playing in the Middle East.

Now 36, Benzema's contract with Al-Ittihad is set to expire in 2026. The Saudi giants expect the Frenchman to call time on his playing career in 18 months as a result, but there's a strong possibility that it happens a lot earlier than anticipated.

Benzema moved to Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023 after a trophy-laden 14 years at Real Madrid, where he won five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and three Copa del Reys - not to mention the 2022 Ballon d'Or after a dominant season in the Spanish capital.

But while he would be giving up a reported €100m in Saudi Arabia by retiring a year early, Benzema would be able to join back up with Los Blancos. Indeed, he already has an agreement in place to join Real Madrid as an ambassador when he does finally hang up his boots, which could come a lot sooner than first expected.

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The role would see him represent the club in the Arab region of the world, helping further raise the profile of Real Madrid. His 354 goals in 648 games would certainly enable him to do that.

In FourFourTwo's view, it seems likely that Benzema could retire at the end of the current campaign. With an agreement already in place to return to Real Madrid, he might simply prefer living in Spain and want to make that process happen quicker.

Regardless, he's by no means struggling at Al-Ittihad, with his 10 goals and three assists in 10 Saudi Pro League games proving his worth this term.