On Monday, striker Karim Benzema posted on his Twitter account announcing the “end” of his career with the France national soccer team, the day after France’s loss to Argentina in the Qatar 2022 World Cup final match.
The holder of the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world for the year 2022 wrote on his Twitter account, attached to his photo in the colors of the French national team: “I made the efforts and the mistakes I should have made to get where I am today and I’m proud of it! I wrote my story and our story has come to an end.
Interestingly, Benzema, who turned 35 on Monday and is of Arab descent, was forced to pull out of the World Cup in Qatar at the last moment before its start, having injured his thigh in training just three days before the Blues first game against Australia.
This injury was just another chapter in Benzema’s turbulent history with the French national team. Despite his 97 international caps for France, the former Lyon and Real Madrid striker has never shone in the blue.
Benzema has won only one competition under his colors, namely the European Nations League in 2021, after being banned from the national team for a long time, from 2015 to 2021, due to his involvement in the sex tape of former international player Mathieu Valbuena.
He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a €75,000 fine in the first instance by the Criminal Court of Versailles for his involvement in attempted extortion in a case dating back to 2015.
The soccer star returned to the ranks of the French national team, to the surprise of all, before the start of the 2021 European Cup, which ended in the exclusion from the final price against Switzerland.
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