Saudi club ready to offer Man City star £24m a year following Benzema switch

 A Saudi Arabian club is ready to offer Manchester City ace Riyad Mahrez a huge contract in a bid to lure him to the Gulf state to join the likes of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez is the latest superstar to be targeted by Saudi Arabian football following Karim Benzema's mega-lucrative move to Al-Ittihad this week.

The current Ballon d'Or holder has joined former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr, in the gulf state, while the likes of N'Golo Kante, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Wilfried Zaha - and countless others, according to reports - could follow in the coming weeks.

Mahrez has two years left on his City contract, but it's understood Saudi side Al-Ahli are set to make him a £24m-a-year contract offer (around £460,000-a-week) that might be too good to refuse, particularly with the Algerian entering his mid-30s.

Saudi Arabia is bidding to host the 2030 World Cup and is looking to splash billions to bring some of the world's biggest stars to the country in order to boost the nation's footballing profile.

According to reports, the Saudi Arabian government has recently handed owners of four Saudi Pro League teams huge sums of money so they can bolster their squads, putting clubs across Europe well and truly on notice.

It's understood Lionel Messi, whose move to Inter Miami was confirmed earlier this week, was offered an eye-watering £1.04bn over two years to join Al Hilal.

Mahrez has been at City for five years, having joined from Leicester for £60m back in 2018. He's played over 230 times for the club, scoring an impressive 78 goals and has won nine major honours, including four Premier League titles.

If he is to leave for Saudi Arabia he has the chance to bow out in the ultimate way possible, by winning the Champions League in what would be his final match on Saturday.

A Champions League winners' medal and a £24m-a-year contract in the pocket … wouldn't be a bad week, would it?