One day after France’s defeat by Argentina in the World Cup final, France’s exceptional striker Karim Bezema has announced his retirement from the national team. The 35-year-old had missed the tournament in Qatar due to a thigh injury suffered shortly before the first group match.
He has written his story and the story with the national team is coming to an end, the Real Madrid professional wrote on social media.
J’ai fait les efforts et les erreurs qu’il fallait pour être où je suis aujourd’hui et j’en suis fier !
J’ai écrit mon histoire et la nôtre prend fin. Nueve pic.twitter.com/7LYEzbpHEs– Karim Benzema (@Benzema) December 19, 2022
National coach Didier Deschamps had not considered Benzema for five and a half years because he was involved in a blackmail case surrounding a sex video of his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena. That’s why the former Olympique Lyon striker also had to stand trial. He is now back on the training pitch for Real Madrid after recovering from his thigh injury.
⚡ @Benzema ⚡ pic.twitter.com/bU5sKd9Rjf
– Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 18, 2022
Despite the long forced break in the national jersey between December 2015 and the spring of 2021, Benzema played 97 international matches and scored 37 goals. He did not win a title with “Les Bleus”, but he did win the World Player of the Year award last October.