After losing the Saudi Super Cup semifinal to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, Al Ittihad are searching for a top-tier player to elevate their performance. And their reported target is a European star who was once a teammate of Karim Benzema and featured in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.
According to Marca, the player targeted by Al Ittihad is Adrien Rabiot. “The Saudi team has added Rabiot’s name to their list,” the Spanish outlet reported on Wednesday. “If he lands in Saudi Arabia, he would share the locker room with his national teammates Benzema and Kante.”
Rabiot is a 30-year-old French midfielder with extensive experience at some of Europe’s top clubs. He came through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won 18 titles between 2012 and 2019. He then joined Juventus, where he was Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate for two years.
Strong performances with PSG and Juventus made him a regular for the French national team. Under head coach Didier Deschamps, he played in Euro 2021 and the 2022 World Cup, where he started in the final against Argentina.
Rabiot has 53 caps and 6 goals for France since 2016. During that time, he has played alongside Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, both current Al Ittihad players, as well as other stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.
Rabiot’s conflict at Marseille
Despite being a world-class player, Adrien Rabiot is currently at the center of a major conflict at his club, Olympique Marseille, which could be a decisive factor in a potential move to the Saudi Pro League.
Last Friday, Marseille lost 1–0 to Rennes on Matchday 1 of Ligue 1. After the final whistle, the players returned to the locker room, where a violent altercation broke out between Adrien Rabiot and teammate Jonathan Rowe. The conflict was so serious that the French side announced harsh disciplinary action, stating that both players would be removed from the squad and the club would seek their departure before the end of the transfer window.
“We had to make a decision after an incident that crossed the acceptable limits at a soccer club… We’ve never seen anything like this in a locker room,” said club president Pablo Longoria in an interview with AFP. “Honestly, as a club, we’re suffering from the situation. We are victims of an incident—a fight with no limits—that’s completely unheard of in the world of soccer.”
How much is Adrien Rabiot worth?
Given the current turmoil and Al Ittihad’s reported interest in Adrien Rabiot, the player’s market value has become a key topic. “Olympique Marseille ask around €15m (around $17.4 million) for Adrien Rabiot and around €20m for Jonathan Rowe,” reported journalist Fabrizio Romano. “Rabiot is considering several options in Europe and abroad.”