Karim Benzema to Bayer Leverkusen: Will 38-year-old transfer happen? Football Whispers Index score

The rumour linking Karim Benzema to Bayer Leverkusen has bounced around social media since DZfoot journalist Ilyes Kaddouri reported direct contact between the two parties on 14 September.

Benzema left Al-Hilal as a free agent on 31 August after coach Simone Inzaghi built his attack around newer signings including Ollie Watkins, and the 38-year-old 2022 Ballon d'Or winner has been unattached ever since.

Leverkusen, under new head coach Carles Martinez Novell, are competing in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League with six centre-forward options already on their books.

Karim Benzema to Bayer Leverkusen rated ”

The Football Whispers Index scores every transfer rumour across five weighted factors. Read how it works here.

The number sits in ‘Possible' because Benzema's free-agent status and Leverkusen's healthy finances make the deal structurally viable at zero cost, while zero credible follow-up in 15 days drags it firmly toward the lower end of the band.

Sporting director Simon Rolfes told BILD the squad is complete on the same day the story broke, and Fabrizio Romano reported twice that a return to European football is not part of Benzema's plans.

The score is propped up by the absence of a selling club, which removes a 20-point obstacle that most transfers have to clear, and the financial arithmetic of signing a free agent on affordable wages at a club backed by Bayer AG's revenue base.

Financial viability

There is no transfer fee to negotiate, because Al-Hilal terminated Benzema's contract by mutual consent on 31 August 2026 and the player has been a free agent ever since.

Leverkusen posted operating revenue of €565m for the 2024/25 financial year, backed by parent company Bayer AG, and their highest-paid player is Moussa Diaby on a gross fixed salary of roughly €217,000 a week.

That wage ceiling sits at roughly €11.3m a year, well below what Benzema earned in Saudi Arabia, but free-agent terms are negotiable and the club could structure a short-term deal around performance bonuses to bridge the gap.

The financial barrier is as low as it gets for a player of this profile: zero fee, a solvent buyer, and a wage conversation that starts from a position of strength for the club.

Buying club need

Leverkusen already carry six centre-forward options in their 2026/27 squad: Patrik Schick, Victor Boniface, Christian Kofane, Ndjichoura Bomba, Martin Terrier, and Ibrahim Maza.

Kofane is the player the rebuild is built around, signed from Albacete in July 2025 at age 19, now carrying a transfer value of £20m after 10 goals in 50 career appearances for the club.

Benzema scored 17 goals in 1,907 Saudi Pro League minutes in 2025/26, a rate of 0.80 per 90 that would be useful in most leagues, but at 38 his age profile contradicts the direction Martinez Novell is taking the forward line.

The only scenario in which Leverkusen genuinely need Benzema is one where a serious injury to Schick or Kofane exposes a lack of depth that Boniface and Terrier cannot cover.

Player motivation

A move from the Saudi Pro League to the Bundesliga would be a step up in competitive level, and Leverkusen's Champions League campaign adds further appeal for a player who scored 354 goals in 648 Real Madrid appearances.

Benzema was pushed out at Al-Hilal after Inzaghi opted for newer signings including Ollie Watkins, and the manner of his departure suggests he would want a role rather than a bench seat at his next club.

At Leverkusen he would compete behind Schick, Kofane, and Boniface for starts, which is a hard sell for a player who has never willingly accepted a reduced role at any point in his career.

Fabrizio Romano reported on 31 August and again on 5 September that Benzema's options are retirement or another Saudi club, and that a return to European football is not part of his plans.

Selling club incentive

There is no selling club and no third-party approval required, because Benzema has been a free agent since 31 August 2026.

Bundesliga rules permit free-agent registrations year-round, so there is no window constraint either, and the deal could be completed at any point if both sides agreed.

Al-Hilal replaced Benzema with Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa before terminating his deal, making the separation clean and removing any lingering financial obligation between the two parties.

Market momentum

The entire Leverkusen link traces back to a single report by DZfoot journalist Ilyes Kaddouri on 14 September, who claimed direct contact between Benzema and the club.

Rolfes responded to BILD the same day with a flat denial, stating the squad is complete, and no German outlet has corroborated the claim in the 15 days since.

Benzema reportedly follows Leverkusen on Instagram and has spoken with former Real Madrid teammates Diaby and Lucas Vazquez at the club, but personal connections are not institutional interest, and the trail has gone completely cold.

Fifteen days of silence from every credible outlet in Germany, combined with an on-the-record denial from the man who makes Leverkusen's transfer decisions, leaves this rumour with zero momentum.

Karim Benzema to Bayer Leverkusen: Will or won't it happen?

This deal needs an injury crisis at Leverkusen that forces Rolfes to reverse his public position, combined with a willingness from Benzema to accept a fraction of his Saudi earnings for a few months of Champions League football.

The likeliest outcome is the simplest one: Benzema either signs with another Saudi club or announces his retirement, and the Leverkusen story fades as a social-media curiosity that never had institutional backing on either side.