In an Instagram story posted on March 11, Karim Benzema said he was going to explain himself “for the people”.
After the long interview with Didier Deschamps published in the columns of Le Figaro and Le Parisien on Friday March 10, Karim Benzema once again posted stories on his Instagram account in response to the coach of the Blues. The first was already heavy with meaning with a “What audacity”, suggesting that the Ballon d’Or 2022 did not at all agree with the words of the 1998 world champion. The latter indicated that he did not There was no problem with Karim Benzema, that he went to see the Real striker before his departure from Qatar explaining to him that he did not have to leave the rally so quickly. An explicit account, thus showing that the departure of the “Nueve” was of its own accord. The coach of the Blues even indicated that he wanted a tribute to be paid to all the “retirees” during France – Netherlands on March 24.
Not sure to see Karim Benzema because faced with the words of Didier Deschamps, the captain of Real Madrid indicated that he was going to explain himself “for the people”, a phrase he has regularly launched in recent months, especially after his coronation at the Ballon Golden. But faced with the many unspoken, some get annoyed like Bixente Lizarazu on the Téléfoot set on Sunday March 12. “I can’t take it anymore! It’s been going on for too long. There’s a permanent misunderstanding between the two. Now it’s the end of Karim Benzema’s international career. We understood that there was a problem between the two, that they could not speak to each other, to understand each other. We see it once again in this affair. ” After months of uncertainty, we will therefore, perhaps, have the version of Karim Benzema on his injury at the World Cup and his departure from Qatar.
Short biography of Karim Benzema. Karim Benzema is a French international footballer who plays as a centre-forward. Revealed at Olympique Lyonnais, the player has distinguished himself for several seasons in the Spanish club Real Madrid. He is also an important member of the France team despite the many controversies he has been the subject of.
Coming from the Lyon training center, the young Karim Benzema donned the jersey of the Olympique Lyonnais first team in 2005. Talented, the striker forged a solid experience under the orders of coach Gérard Houiller.
With his teammates, the player has a string of goals and contributes to the many French championship titles won by the club. It was therefore natural that Karim Benzema was called up to the France team in 2007. But his difficult relationship with coach Raymond Domenech prevented him from fully developing. The behavior of the player is also singled out at his club so that Karim Benzema decides to try his luck elsewhere.
By receiving the Ballon d’Or on Monday, October 17, the Real Madrid striker added his name to the prestigious list of winners; the one where the French Zidane, Kopa, Platini and Papin appear, the one where all the children playing football dream of appearing one day. Upon receiving his trophy, handed over to his mentor, model and former coach Zizou, the center-forward of the Blues made a remarked speech.
“I think back to all the work done, I never gave up because it was a childhood dream. I grew up with that in my head. And the two role models in my life, Zizou and Ronaldo, made me gave me motivation. […] There were more difficult times for me. Periods when, for example, I was not in the selection. I worked a lot in training and my coach told me to keep my joy to play and, one day, I would win that trophy. I’m proud of my journey. And, like I said, it’s been difficult. For my parents, for my family… But it didn’t only strengthens me mentally,” said Karim Benzema.
And to add: ‘I will continue like this, I would like to thank my teammates, my great president Florentino Perez. He was always straight with me. I don’t forget (Jean-Michel) Aulas and Olympique Lyonnais, without them I couldn’t have achieved my dream. This Ballon d’Or is individual, but it’s still the Ballon d’Or of the people. I think there is no age. After their thirties, many level up. It’s determination, work. I train a lot more, I tell myself that we must not let go. I still have ambition, I would like to win the World Cup with the France team because these are things that remain. I hope to be in the group in Qatar, in any case it’s objective because I have great confidence in myself, I have ambition. I want to go to the World Cup and do everything to win it”
A little later, in the evening, Karim Benzema expressed himself in a more relaxed manner, agreeing to say a few words to the journalists present to cover the event. In a press conference, first, the player who has become a multi-millionaire explained his formula for the “People’s Golden Ball”. : “There is nothing political. It’s just a reference to where I come from, to all my fans who have supported me at all times, even in difficult times. I want to share this trophy with them because I love sharing and they deserve it”. A little later, he added, “Let’s say it’s the best day of my life.”
No more Karim Benzema in the France team? The announcement of Real Madrid’s number 9 on December 19, who announced on his social networks that his story with the Blues was “over” surprised many people, since the Lyonnais had never seemed as strong as this year. But this hasty departure is not illogical, given the level of animosities accumulated in recent weeks between a few people, who have probably struggled to burst all the abscesses.
To tell the truth, it is undoubtedly the story of a huge mess, as the talent of Karim Benzema has splashed the world of sport in the past two years. The Ballon d’Or 2022, already deprived of the World Cup because of an injury, no longer intends to wear the jersey of the France team. Football lovers can feed this regret: no longer seeing the Griezmann-Mbappe-Benzema trio on the pitch, called to play the leading roles at least until 2024. Yes, but here it is, for Karim Benzema, the cup is full : he no longer feels in his place in this team, managed by the current staff and in an environment where nothing escapes Didier Deschamps.
It’s no secret: the relationship between Didier Deschamps and the Real Madrid star has been strained for many years: their reconciliation a few weeks before the Euro was very fragile. Too much to resist the tensions that arose with the attacker’s injury, which led to his ousting from the France team. Karim Benzema had to forfeit at the last minute after suffering a thigh injury in training just three days before the start against Australia. While we expected a quick return, just after the competition in Doha, Karim Benzema said stop.
So who is to blame ? If the defeat of the Blues in the World Cup final created a major stir on the management of the group, many observers questioned the choices of Didier Deschamps on the Benzema case. There was so little missing… What if the Ballon d’Or had been present? Basically, has everything really been done to preserve it physically? Could he have come back during the competition?
We know a little more about the extra-sporting context, and certain elements suggest that the disenchantment between Karim Benzema and the staff of the Blues has lasted too long. The French star of Real Madrid had already decided to refuse the invitation of the FFF and Emmanuel Macron to travel to Doha to attend the final of the Blues. And the player’s communication was controversial: few messages of support during the competition, but above all this photo of him, pouting, posted the day before the final with this comment: “I’m not interested”. If nothing is clear in this way of speaking, it was already quite obvious that the situation between Karim Benzema and the FFF was delicate.
Moreover, the very well-informed newspaper L’Equipe, which is not the type to produce files on rumours, took the liberty of publishing an article on Sunday, December 18 entitled “The ‘Benzema file’ polluted the preparation of the World Cup final. According to the French daily, the relationship between the Madrid player and Didier Deschamps would have deteriorated considerably: the player would have liked to do everything possible with the medical staff of the Blues to be available with the France team for the final phase of the competition, which that Didier Deschamps would have refused, considering that the group dynamic takes place without the absentees. It is this disagreement that seems to be at the heart of the tensions which, by snowball effect – and undoubtedly by misunderstanding or lack of communication – resulted in the rupture.
It is undoubtedly necessary to measure these tensions in the light of the issue and the particular context at this moment of the season: according to Foot Mercato, the medical team of the Blues wanted to carry out a complete check-up for Karim Benzema, in order to have all the necessary certainties about his state of form. But the Real Madrid player did not want to comply. According to the media, the staff of the Blues would then have developed some doubts about the sincerity of the Madrid player.
Could Didier Deschamps have avoided this situation, by talking more with Karim Benzema? By reassuring him? By making him understand how precious he could be? To tell the truth, these marks of attention, which could have changed things, are not really in the bag of the coach, who has other tools and ways of doing things to motivate his troops. And Didier Deschamps can also consider that everything is simpler without Karim Benzema, as L’Equipe writes in its December 20 edition. “Was the plan to recall Benzema after this World Cup, when Kylian Mbappé has definitely taken the lead on the pitch? And the two no longer have much affinity, after the alliance of circumstance at the start? We will never know, even if we have a small idea. If he extends with the Blues, the coach will not even have to ask himself these questions. He will be able to rebuild around the Parisian star and the golden youth, who did not need the light of a Ballon d’Or to shine in Qatar”, can we read in the columns of Daily Sports.
For its part, the Relevo media revealed on December 15 that the center forward had been upset by the FFF’s lack of interest in him and by Didier Deschamps’ statements concerning him. For the consultant and former world champion Emmanuel Petit, who spoke this Monday, December 19 on RMC, “there are gray areas”. “The France team was programmed to go at least until the quarters, we could have taken the bet to go at least until the quarters. We could have taken the bet to keep him and treat him. [.. .] It all seems a bit nebulous to me.”
L’Equipe add, and it’s no surprise, that Deschamps and Benzema were never “accomplices”. Didier Deschamps would also have been offended by the attitude of his player, who had not thanked him during his speech at the time of the presentation of his Ballon d’Or.
Asked about the tensions mentioned in the media between him and the Ballon d’Or, and about the latter’s refusal to come and support the Blues in Doha, Didier Deschamps had this answer at a press conference on Sunday: “You are spreading the word between foreign journalists? If I don’t answer, you’ll say I’m pissed. I have players who have been injured before. Karim is one of them. The last one injured was Lucas Hernandez. I have players to manage and you know them. Asking the question vis-à-vis these players, if I may say so, is clumsy to say the least, if not a little more. (…) I don’t does not deal with invitations from players, former players or injured players”.
It is therefore now the future of Karim Benzema in Blues that arises. “If the coach extends with the Blues, it will once again be necessary to break the ice with KB9, as before Euro 2021, when the two men met on the Côte d’Azur at Guy Stephan’s to iron out their differences related to the affair of the sextape. It will still be necessary, this time, that the two parties want to take a step towards each other, which is not at all certain”, writes L’Equipe .
Karim Benzema has indeed been playing with a major bandage in his hand for nearly two seasons now. A strap that is put on him before each match and which is not without raising some questions among the fans of the Blues. Benzema actually suffered a hand injury in January 2019, during a La Liga match against Betis Seville. After contact, the Madrid striker then fell and landed badly on the right hand. Race record: fractured little finger. That day, Karim Benzema, steeped in pain, will be unable to finish the game. He will however be aligned the following days, his coach at the time, Santiago Solari, judging the fracture not very problematic for his immediate performances, as for the rest of his career. According to Le Figaro, which recalls the anecdote, Karim Benzema has never taken the time to treat this shock-deformed little finger! Which explains this impressive bandage that wraps a good part of his hand in every match since. The return to the France team and Benzema’s participation in the Euros will have further delayed the deadline. Unless Benzema ended up seeing this bandage as a kind of lucky charm…
In 2009, the center forward joined the Real Madrid club. His transfer is estimated at 35 million euros. But the debut in the Madrid jersey is not easy. His coach, Manuel Pellegrini preferring striker Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema spends more time on the sidelines than on the pitch.
In 2010, José Mourinho took over the reins of the merengue club and pushed the French footballer to his limits, not hesitating to take him to task in the press. But Karim Benzema does not let himself be destabilized and works. His efforts paid off as he finished as the club’s second top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions, just behind club star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 2011/2012 season gives the striker a new dimension. Indeed, Karim Benzema is rewarded with an undisputed starting place. On many occasions, the footballer is decisive so that the Spanish press regularly calls him a savior. Nicknamed Karim Benzegoal, the center-forward is crowned top French scorer in the history of Real Madrid ahead of the illustrious Zinedine Zidane. The center-forward won the Champions League four times between 2014 and 2018 and a La Liga in 2017, during one of the most prosperous periods for the Merengue club.
If success is at the rendezvous on the Iberian Peninsula, the player is struggling to shine in the France team. He will even hold the sad record of 1,222 minutes spent without scoring a goal. In 2014, he returned to the nets and flew to the World Cup in Brazil where France lost in the quarter-finals. In 2021, the French striker is now one of Real Madrid’s captains. He notably scored the 1000th goal in the history of Real Madrid in the Champions League in 2021. He won the Champions League again with the Merengue in 2022.
Present at Real Madrid since 2009, the striker has often extended his contract. Put in competition several times, Benzema has always been able to keep his starting place in Madrid. In 2019, he receives a salary of 10 million euros, which makes him one of the highest paid French people in the world.
Karim Benzema had a daughter, Mélia, in February 2014 with a young nurse, Chloé de Launay. However, the couple separated two years later. Since then, the Frenchman has had a romance with a model Cora Gauthier, who gave him a son, named Ibrahim. The Frenchman doesn’t like to expose his private life, but during the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony, the Frenchman showed up alongside American model Jordan Ozuna.