Benzema open to possible France comeback | OneFootball

The forward Karim Benzema, who had announced his retirement from the French national team after the 2022 World Cup, has not ruled out a possible return to the national team, according to an interview given to the French sports newspaper L’Équipe, published this Thursday.

“If I was told to go to the French national team to play in a World Cup and I said no, I would be lying. I am a football player. So, I play football. When I am called up, I come, I play… I love football and I love winning. I love titles. That’s what matters most to me. If I am called up to the national team, I will come to play football. And that’s it,” explained the 37-year-old Al Ittihad player from Saudi Arabia, six months before the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada (from June 11 to July 19).

“We’re talking about a World Cup. Obviously, these aren’t things where you can say: ‘No, I don’t want to.’ Because it would be a lie to say: ‘No, I don’t want to play in a World Cup’,” added the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner.

Controversies

Benzema’s international career was marked by numerous ups and downs under the management of Didier Deschamps.

Excluded from Euro 2016 due to his involvement in the Mathieu Valbuena intimate video case, for which he was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term in 2021 for complicity in an attempted blackmail, he was called up again by the national team coach to play in Euro 2021.

The former Real Madrid star had to withdraw from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the last minute and left the French squad just before the opening match, due to a muscle injury suffered during a training session in Doha.

Retirement from the French National Team

The day after France’s defeat in the final against Argentina, he announced the end of his career with the national team and quickly resumed training, not hesitating to criticize Didier Deschamps on social media in an enigmatic way, which sparked controversy over the reasons for his departure.

When asked by L’Équipe about this abrupt ending, Benzema refused to fuel the controversy with Deschamps.

“I’m not here to talk about these things. And I’m not here to keep dwelling on it… That’s it, it’s over. Are we going to keep talking about this for thirty years? I’m not here to fuel the controversy any further. That’s in the past for me. Let’s move on,” he said.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.