March 11, (THEWILL) – Karim Benzema has continued his public feud with France’s Manager, Didier Deschamps, and the situation seems far from over.
In a recent interview with Les Parisien, Deschamps claimed that Benzema left the France squad of his own accord during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, due to injury concerns. However, Benzema disputed this claim in a post on his Instagram story, posting a picture of Deschamps accompanied by the caption: “The audacity of this [clown emoji]! Holy Didier. Goodnight.”
THEWILL recalls that Benzema had been doubted to play at the World Cup due to a series of injuries, and ultimately withdrew from the squad just prior to France’s opener. He received a silver medal as he was not officially replaced in their 26-player squad, and announced his retirement from international football one day after Les Bleus’ defeat to Argentina in the final.
Benzema’s relationship with Deschamps has long been strained, in part, due to his blackmail case against former teammate, Mathieu Valbuena. Despite Deschamps’ claims, Benzema has maintained that he did not voluntarily leave the squad.
In an interview with L’Equipe, he said: “The truth is that I never left the national team. I was not allowed to play, I was kicked out…It’s not me who left, it’s him who left me out. I didn’t make the decision to leave.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
