Ballon d’Or winner leaves the Spanish club after winning 25 trophies, including five Champions Leagues.
Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid as a free agent in the final season after 14 trophy-packed years, the La Liga club has said.
The attacker, 35, has been strongly linked this week with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.
“Real Madrid and our captain Karim Benzema have agreed to end his brilliant and unforgettable period as a player at our club,” Los Blancos said in a statement on Sunday.
“Madrid want to show their gratitude and all their love to someone who is one of our greatest legends.”
The announcement comes after Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday there was “no doubt” about Benzema’s future at Madrid, noting that the striker had one year left on his contract.
And Benzema himself had said “not everything you read on the internet is reality” after reports emerged in the week about his possible departure for Saudi Arabia.
The French striker joined Madrid from Ligue 1 side Lyon in 2009.
Benzema established himself as a key player alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in the vaunted “BBC” attacking trident, before progressing to become the leader of the team when the Portuguese striker left in 2018.
Benzema has won a record 25 trophies with Madrid, including five Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey titles, and is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player.
He is Real Madrid’s second all-time top goalscorer, with 353 goals for Madrid, behind only Ronaldo with 450.
Benzema’s last appearance for the club could be later on Sunday, when Madrid host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid confirmed on Saturday that Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz will also all leave this summer, leaving plenty of room for new signings in attack.
Ancelotti avoided talking on Saturday about Madrid’s alleged interest in England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
“I’m not going to talk about the future of the current team,” said Ancelotti.
“Kane is a great player, he is a Tottenham player, we have to respect the player and Tottenham.”