The agent of Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema has added more fuel to the fire surrounding the striker’s feud with the France national team by claiming he was okay to play for the majority of the World Cup.
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Benzema picked up an injury before the start of the tournament in Qatar and France ruled him out of the competition as a result, although Benzema was never removed from the squad.
There was speculation that he would return for the final against Argentina as the French squad suffered from a bug which threatened to rule a number of players out of the game.
However, no such return materialised and Real Madrid striker Benzema finally called time on his international career for good.
Rumours emerged that Benzema fell out with France manager Didier Deschamps over the injury, feeling that it was only small despite Deschamps insisting that the striker return to Madrid for treatment.
Je pose ça là mais avant ça j’ai consulté 3 spécialistes qui confirment le diagnostic que @Benzema aurait pu être apte à partir des 1/8 éme pour au moins être sur le banc ! Pourquoi lui avoir demandé de partir si vite ? pic.twitter.com/wtOHhDeDVW
— Karim Djaziri (@KDjaziri) December 26, 2022
Agent Karim Djaziri has now even intensified the feud by posting a video to social media which he claims is proof that Benzema was fit by the time of the Round of 16, which would have meant he was fit to help France in their entire World Cup knockout phase.
Djaziri captioned the video: “I put that there but before that I consulted 3 specialists who confirm the diagnosis that Benzema could have been fit from the last 16 to at least be on the bench! Why did you ask him to leave so quickly?”
The message was clearly aimed at Deschamps and adds to the speculation that a behind-the-scenes issue played a huge role in Benzema’s omission from the competition.
Benzema has since unfollowed almost every player involved in the French national side on social media, signalling that he has drawn a line in the sand with France for good.
