News announced on Wednesday that Karim Benzema had renewed his Real Madrid contract until June 2021 was generally welcomed as further evidence of the club's new policy of squad stability, right up until the 1-0 defeat to Real Betis hours later suggested that maybe things had become too comfortable around the Bernabeu.
Benzema was following Marcelo, Isco and Dani Carvajal in agreeing new contracts, all up to June 2022, in recent days. Coach Zinedine Zidane has also confirmed he has agreed to extend his deal, with that announcement also expected soon.
This fit with comments made by club president Florentino Perez, earlier this month, when he said that after winning a third Champions League in four years last season the idea had been to keep disruption to a minimum in the summer.