Le Parisien: Benzema behind Al-Ittihad’s sudden U-turn on Pioli – the situation | OneFootball

Stefano Pioli’s move to Al-Ittihad appeared to be a done deal just a few days ago but as things stand, it could collapse. According to a report, the will of Karim Benzema is decisive in these unexpected turn of events.

Pioli said farewell to Milan at the end of the 2023-24 season, with Daniele Bonera coaching the friendly against Roma in Australia. Since then, he has been linked with multiple clubs and found himself in advanced talks with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

However, as has been reported by several outlets in the last 24 hours, the negotiations seemed to have hit a stalemate. According to Le Parisien, as cited by Francesco Nasato, the main reason behind this is the will of Karim Benzema.

The Al-Ittihad star has asked the management to go for Christophe Galtier, who is set to leave his position as the head coach of Qatar side Al-Duhail. The Saudi Arabian side have thus decided to put the the Pioli negotiations on hold and are now focused on the Frenchman instead.

According to the French outlet, All-Ittihad have even made a hefty offer worth €12m per year for three years to Galtier. Pioli looks set to remain on Milan’s payroll, in other words.