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Benzema鈥檚 Real deal has US$1b 鈥榖uyout clause鈥
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Real Madrid鈥檚 France forward Karim Benzema has signed a new contract at the club, which includes a 1-billion euro (US$1.2 billion) buyout clause, according to local media reports.
Spanish and European champion Real announced yesterday that Benzema had signed a three-year extension to his current deal, which was due to expire at the end of next season, taking him through to 2021.
Benzema follows in the footsteps of teammates Marcelo, Isco and Dani Carvajal, who have all penned new deals over the past two weeks containing clauses designed to avoid a repeat of the Neymar situation experienced by Barcelona in the close season.
Real鈥檚 rival Barcelona was caught off-guard when Paris Saint-Germain triggered the 222-million euro buyout clause in Neymar鈥檚 contract, which paved the way for the Brazil forward to move to the French club in August.
By law, contracts in Spain must feature a buyout clause and Real has moved to ensure its top players鈥 deals contain unattainably high clauses. AS reported that Benzema鈥檚 buyout clause now matches teammate Cristiano Ronaldo鈥檚.
Benzema鈥檚 new deal means the forward, who is sidelined with a hamstring problem, is set to spend over a decade at Real, where he has been a regular first choice since joining in 2009.
The 29-year-old has made 247 Liga appearances for Real, netting 122 goals, and is the third-highest scorer currently active in the UEFA Champions League behind Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Meanwhile, Messi鈥檚 four-goal masterclass in the 6-1 demolition of Eibar on Tuesday was warmly welcomed by Ernesto Valverde but held little surprise for the Barcelona coach.
The clinical Argentine Messi now has 11 goals in his last five games in all competitions and with record-signing Ousmane Dembele injured and Luis Suarez rested, he put on a sensational show at Camp Nou to extend Barcelona鈥檚 La Liga lead.
鈥淔rom a move where it looks like nothing is going to happen, he can create something good for us and bad for the opposition,鈥 Valverde said. 鈥淗im scoring four goals isn鈥檛 news anymore. He鈥檚 done this time and time again, on many nights and in many games. He repeats it, he repeats it and he repeats it.鈥
Having coached Athletic Bilbao before joining Barcelona, Valverde has faced Messi multiple times, but for summer signing Nelson Semedo, experiencing the Argentine鈥檚 magic live is a relatively new sensation.
鈥淕ame by game he surprises us, there are no words for him,鈥 said the Portuguese right back, who won the penalty which Messi converted for his first goal of the night in the 21st minute.
Despite losing Neymar to PSG, suffering frustration in the transfer market and seeing president Josep Maria Bartomeu鈥檚 reign questioned, Messi鈥檚 virtuoso displays have kept Barcelona top of the table with a 100 per cent record.
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