Fabinho Standoff Threatens Al-Ittihad's Stability

The last time Al-Ittihad tried to trim the wage bill of a dressing-room heavyweight, they watched Karim Benzema walk out of the door and straight into the arms of Al-Hilal. They are now flirting with the same mistake again, this time with the man who has held their midfield together.

Fabinho, 32, is out of contract. He arrived in the summer of 2023 from Liverpool for 46.7 million euros and has since become the axis of the Jeddah side, the player the rest of the team spins around. His deal expired at the end of last season, and Al-Ittihad want him to stay. Desperately.

A cornerstone asked to take a cut

Club officials have moved to extend Fabinho’s contract by a further year, which would keep him at Al-Ameed until June 2027. Sports media figure Mohammed Al-Bukairy confirmed that the club’s company is actively working on that renewal.

The proposal on the table, though, cuts deep. According to Al-Bukairy, the offer comes in below what Fabinho earned over the last three seasons, both in annual salary and benefits. For a player who has given them control, balance and silverware, it landed badly.

Fabinho and his agent have made their displeasure clear. Negotiations continue, with both sides now circling a figure that sits close to his previous wage level of 25 million euros a year. The gap is financial, but it is also emotional: what is a title-winning cornerstone worth in a league where star names rarely come cheap?

Europe, Brazil… but Saudi still on his mind

While Al-Ittihad haggle, the market watches. Several Brazilian outlets report that Cruzeiro and Palmeiras are interested in bringing the midfielder home this summer. They see an experienced leader, still capable of dictating games at the highest level.

Fabinho’s own priorities complicate that chase. He is giving preference to staying in Europe or in Saudi Arabia, a stance that keeps Al-Ittihad firmly in the conversation but also opens the door to other clubs in the region and on the continent. If Jeddah hesitate, someone else will not.

Echoes of Benzema

For Al-Ittihad supporters, the tone of this dispute is uncomfortably familiar. The tension around Fabinho and his agent mirrors the saga that ended with Benzema’s departure in the 2026 winter window.

Back then, the club wanted to renew the French striker’s contract, but again on reduced financial terms. Benzema, nicknamed “the Government,” did not take kindly to the downgrade. Talks broke down, tempers flared, and he demanded a contract termination. He got it, then joined Al-Hilal on a deal running until June 2027.

That move has aged awkwardly in Riyadh. Al-Hilal now want to offload Benzema, who no longer fits their plans on a technical level. Attempts to find a buyer have so far failed, leaving the capital club with an expensive problem and offering a cautionary tale about big-name deals that sour quickly.

In Jeddah, the lesson should be different: when you do find a foreign star who delivers consistently and buys into the project, think carefully before pushing him towards the exit.

The numbers behind his influence

Fabinho’s case is not built on reputation alone. Since landing in Saudi Arabia in 2023, he has played 111 matches for Al-Ittihad across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists. Those figures only scratch the surface of his impact.

He anchored the midfield during the club’s 2024–2025 double, a season that saw Al-Ittihad lift both the Saudi Roshn League and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup. When the team needed calm, he gave it. When they needed bite, he supplied that too. He was the reference point in and out of possession.

That is the profile Al-Ittihad are now asking to accept a reduced package.

A decision that will echo through Jeddah

The talks are still alive. There is no public rupture, no formal farewell. Both sides are chasing a compromise that keeps Fabinho’s salary close to his previous level without blowing apart the club’s financial structure.

But time and tone matter. The longer the stand-off drags on, the more tempting those calls from Brazil — and potentially Europe — will sound. Al-Ittihad have already lived through one high-profile contract row that ended with a star walking away and the club scrambling to reshape its identity.

They cannot afford to misjudge this one.