French striker Kylian Mbappe publicly supported his senior Karim Benzema to be gathered with the national team at the time when the Golden Ball had just announced that he would no longer be on the national team.
According to COPE, Mbappe would love to play alongside the Real Madrid forward for Les Bleus. However, mainstream sources are painting a tense picture of the end of Benzema’s international career.
The French striker announced his retirement from international football on December 19, a day after France was defeated by Argentina in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Benzema wrote on Twitter: “I worked hard and made mistakes to get to where I am today and I’m proud of it! I’ve written my story with France. This is a team. The national team has been great for me but my story with France is over.”
Benzema was sent back to Madrid ahead of the World Cup finals in Qatar after sustaining a thigh injury before the tournament during a training session with Les Bleus. According to journalist Romain Molina, a disagreement with France coach Didier Deschamps and the France striker has occurred, with sources constantly reporting meetings in turmoil.
Even so, Mbappe is said to be happy to play with the winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or. Also according to journalist Molina, his teammates in France were very angry when Mbappe was still determined to defend Benzema and was being bullied. threatened to face.
It is important to know that the c芯饾殫flict between Benzema and the French Football Federation (FFF) even occurred 10 years ago. At that time, the Real Madrid star was threatened by Florence Hardouin, the president of the FFF, to stop sharing bad content about Benzema so as not to adversely affect his teammates.
Now, not only prohibiting Benzema from showing interests on social networks, FFF also asks other stars not to like (like) Benzema’s posts. However, one player who “crossed the barrier” was Aurelien Tchouameni, Benzema’s teammate at Real. Therefore, the FFF was angry when Tchouameni openly sided with the owner of the 2022 Golden Ball.
Benzema returns to the national team in 2020 after a five-year absence for allegedly blackmailing his former team-mate. Benzema has 97 caps for Les Bleus, scoring 37 goals and providing 20 assists.
The Real Madrid forward was part of the French team for the 2021 European Championship having been knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16 on penalties. Benzema was absent from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where France won the final in Russia.
Meanwhile, coach Deschamps is set to decide on his future as manager of France in January 2023. He has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012, with 90 wins, 26 draws and 24 losses in 140 matches. The former France international helped his national team to the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 UEFA Nations League.
However, his side’s defeat at the final hurdle of this year’s World Cup has led to speculation Deschamps could leave. Benzema is said to be happy to return to the national team if Deschamps is replaced by close coach Zinedine Zidane.
The former Madrid coach continues to be linked with the role. Previously, Zidane has turned down approaches from Manchester United and PSG to be available for work with the France team.