Karim Benzema has seemingly deactivated his Instagram account, which boasted an impressive 76 million followers.
This action came shortly after his club, Al-Ittihad, suffered a 5-2 thrashing to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr on Boxing Day.
And following the 5-2 humiliation, Karim Benzema has either deleted or temporarily suspended his Instagram account.
2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and five-time Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo are both considered among the greatest players of their generation, with Ronaldo being especially revered.
The pair played alongside each other at Real Madrid for nine years and bagged numerous trophies together.
After leaving Los Blancos, Ronaldo went on to have outstanding performances at Juventus and Manchester United before moving to Al-Nassr.
Similarly, Benzema left Santiago Bernabeu in the summer to join Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, signing a lucrative three-year contract with the club.
However, his move has not been as successful as expected, with Al-Ittihad currently trailing 22 points behind Al-Hilal and struggling to secure wins in their recent competitions.
Their lastest game saw the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner fail to score a goal and even commit a penalty, one of two scored by Ronaldo.
The French striker kicked an Al-Nassr player in the box, leading to the first penalty for Ronaldo.
Talisca netted the second goal for Al-Nassr before Brazilian star Fabinho made a mistake that allowed Ronaldo to score the third goal.
The game then took a turn, with Al-Nassr scoring two more goals from former Liverpool star Sadio Mane.
And since the defeat, Benzema's Instagram account now shows a message saying the 'page isn't available' and that 'the link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed'.
Meanwhile, Benzema's performance in Saudi Arabia has been criticized despite scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 14 games.
Fans of the club have also accused the Frenchman of being "lazy" and "unwilling" to contribute to the team's play.
In addition, one of the Saudi reporters, Walid Al-Farraj has claimed that Benzema "makes no effort" and has "offered nothing" on the field.
Walid Al-Farraj said: ''The gap between Benzema and the public is growing day by day. He didn't play and never managed to make a single difference. And above all, he makes no effort, as if he were telling the audience: 'I'm just having fun with you."
''When Ronaldo arrived in January he showed signs that he wanted to play, but Benzema offered nothing. It's like the team doesn't like him. He is uncomfortable. I don't know the reason."
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 52nd and 53rd goals of the year, with only five days left on the calendar.
The race for the most goals has been fiercely contested, with Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, and Erling Haaland also scoring 50 or more goals this season.
Mbappe and Kane have finished their year with 52 goals each, while Haaland and Ronaldo still have games left to play.
Erling Haaland has two games remaining for Manchester City, where he would need three goals to match Ronaldo's tally.
Ronaldo also has one more game left to play in 2023 for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League making the competition between these two strikers far from over.
Do you think Haaland could score more goals to defeat Ronaldo for the award of the most goals scored? Please, share your thoughts with us in the opinion box below:
This action came shortly after his club, Al-Ittihad, suffered a 5-2 thrashing to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr on Boxing Day.
And following the 5-2 humiliation, Karim Benzema has either deleted or temporarily suspended his Instagram account.
How the event unfolded
2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and five-time Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo are both considered among the greatest players of their generation, with Ronaldo being especially revered.
The pair played alongside each other at Real Madrid for nine years and bagged numerous trophies together.
After leaving Los Blancos, Ronaldo went on to have outstanding performances at Juventus and Manchester United before moving to Al-Nassr.
Similarly, Benzema left Santiago Bernabeu in the summer to join Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, signing a lucrative three-year contract with the club.
However, his move has not been as successful as expected, with Al-Ittihad currently trailing 22 points behind Al-Hilal and struggling to secure wins in their recent competitions.
Their lastest game saw the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner fail to score a goal and even commit a penalty, one of two scored by Ronaldo.
The French striker kicked an Al-Nassr player in the box, leading to the first penalty for Ronaldo.
Talisca netted the second goal for Al-Nassr before Brazilian star Fabinho made a mistake that allowed Ronaldo to score the third goal.
The game then took a turn, with Al-Nassr scoring two more goals from former Liverpool star Sadio Mane.
And since the defeat, Benzema's Instagram account now shows a message saying the 'page isn't available' and that 'the link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed'.
Meanwhile, Benzema's performance in Saudi Arabia has been criticized despite scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 14 games.
Fans of the club have also accused the Frenchman of being "lazy" and "unwilling" to contribute to the team's play.
In addition, one of the Saudi reporters, Walid Al-Farraj has claimed that Benzema "makes no effort" and has "offered nothing" on the field.
Walid Al-Farraj said: ''The gap between Benzema and the public is growing day by day. He didn't play and never managed to make a single difference. And above all, he makes no effort, as if he were telling the audience: 'I'm just having fun with you."
''When Ronaldo arrived in January he showed signs that he wanted to play, but Benzema offered nothing. It's like the team doesn't like him. He is uncomfortable. I don't know the reason."
Cristiano Ronaldo sets to become the highest goal scorer of the year
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 52nd and 53rd goals of the year, with only five days left on the calendar.
The race for the most goals has been fiercely contested, with Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, and Erling Haaland also scoring 50 or more goals this season.
Mbappe and Kane have finished their year with 52 goals each, while Haaland and Ronaldo still have games left to play.
Erling Haaland has two games remaining for Manchester City, where he would need three goals to match Ronaldo's tally.
Ronaldo also has one more game left to play in 2023 for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League making the competition between these two strikers far from over.
Do you think Haaland could score more goals to defeat Ronaldo for the award of the most goals scored? Please, share your thoughts with us in the opinion box below: