Al Hilal officially presented new signing Karim Benzema on Tuesday following the French striker's move from Saudi Pro League rivals Al Ittihad.
The Pro League leaders pulled off a shock swoop for Benzema hours before Monday's transfer deadline, strengthening an attack that already boasts the likes of Salem Al Dawsari, Marcos Leonardo, Darwin Nunez and Malcom.
To give an indication of what Benzema's move means, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Al Nassr captain, reportedly refused to play in Monday's game against Al Riyadh.
Multiple reports say the Portuguese superstar is unhappy at what he perceives as a bias towards Hilal by the PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that majority owns Nassr, Ittihad, Al Ahli and Hilal.
Benzema, 38, led Ittihad to a league-and-cup double last season. He scored 54 goals in total for the Jeddah club since joining on a free transfer from Real Madrid in June 2023.
He was handed the No 90 squad number, with his favoured No 9 shirt already occupied by Leonardo.
The former Real Madrid striker was the star signing of a strong winter recruitment campaign by Hilal, joining Mohamed Kader Mitty, Rayan Al Dosari, Pablo Mari, Murad Hawsawi, Sultan Mandash, and Simon Boubary at the Kingdom Arena.
In a video posted on the club's X channel, Benzema said: "I'm happy to be part of a great team. I have a lot of ambition, and I will work [hard] and give everything on the pitch to help this team win trophies."
Benzema is not the only high-profile departure from reigning Saudi champions Al Ittihad.
On Wednesday, Turkish side Fenerbahce announced they had signed French midfielder N'Golo Kante, while Morocco forward Youssef En-Nesyri has moved to Ittihad.
Kante, who won two English Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea respectively, returns to Europe after two-and-a-half seasons with Ittihad.
The like-for-like exchange transfer appeared to be off after Fenerbahce said on Tuesday that Ittihad had failed to enter the relevant information into Fifa's transfer matching system to complete the deal.
However, Ittihad later announced the sale of Kante, before signing En-Nesyri as a replacement for Benzema.
"Welcome to our Fenerbahce, N'Golo Kante" the Turkish side posted on X.
The 34-year-old midfielder played a major role in France's successful campaign in Russia to clinch the 2018 World Cup and is hoping to repeat the feat at the 2026 tournament, which will be held in North America next summer.
En-Nesyri, 28, joined Fenerbahce in 2024 from La Liga's Sevilla and scored 38 goals in 79 games in all competitions.
