Arsenal target Karim Benzema reportedly tells Real Madrid that he will only extend his contract at the club for £135,000 a week.
Read more Arsenal transfer news.
Real Madrid striker and France international has shocked his club Real Madrid by informing them that he will only extend his contract if offered £135,000 a week, bringing him into line with Gareth Bale, according to reports today in the Daily Express.
The French international is currently in Brazil with his national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but will be keen to get his future sorted out quickly on his return from South America.
Benzema has just one year to run on his contract at the Bernabeu and, despite regularly impressing with his performance and goalscoring exploits, rumours persist that Carlo Ancelotti may be looking to replace him with the likes of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.
The former Lyon man arrived in the Spanish capital in 2009 and has gone on to score over 70 La Liga goals for the club in five years, but he appears to be looking for a bigger commitment from his club before agreeing to the prime years of his career being spent in Madrid.
Arsenal are on the lookout for a striker to compete with Benzema’s French international teammate Olivier Giroud for a place in the line-up and manager Arsene Wenger is known to be a keen admirer, but Benzema’s steep wage demands may also prove to be too much for him to stomach.
COMMENTS