The Saudi Arabian club has been on a recruitment spree in the summer, with French striker Benschmar joining the Etihad as one of the highlights. However, the Ballon d'Or winner has recently been revealed to have had a conflict with his coach Newnoo, with the news suggesting that Benschmar refused to attend a training session at one point, and Newnoo demanded to hide him from the team, going to a point where "there is a place for you and not for me".
According to Saudi media outlet Asharq Al-Aswat, Nuno thinks that Benschmar's style of play doesn't suit the team, and that Benschmar didn't score in the first 2 rounds of Etihad's opening match, and that Nuno has recently handed over the captaincy to club legend Roman Leno, not fulfilling the promise of "making him captain" that he made to Benschmar when he signed for the club. Sources say that Benschmar refused to attend the recent training session, and Nuño retaliated by asking the club not to make him the captain of the team.
