The coach refused to pick the Real Madrid striker for five years following the scandal that erupted involving Mathieu Valbuena
France coach Didier Deschamps is determined to put his spat with Karim Benzema behind him after recalling the Real Madrid ace for Euro 2020.
Benzema was rewarded for a fine season at the Merengue with a return to international football following five years out in the cold.
And while the pair’s relationship has been far from ideal in that interval, Deschamps is only interested in what the star can do on the pitch.
What did Deschamps say about Benzema’s return?
“I won’t talk about our discussion. But it was very, very long: there were a lot of exchanges,” Deschamps told Telefoot on Sunday when asked about Benzema’s comeback.
“What is important is today and tomorrow. The fact that he did not come back before did not prevent the French team from having good results.”
The Bleus head coach added: “Things have changed. Me, and certainly Karim’s side too, of course”
“I’m not going to tell you when, how, if it was possible before. The conditions were not met, they are today. If I made this decision, you can imagine that it was fine.”
Benzema on linking up with Mbappe for France:
“I like his movements, how he plays football. Now it’s up to us to get along well on the pitch, but anyway, I have no doubts about that.” [Onze Mondial]
Can anyone stop them at the Euros? 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/NIkeWeKYII
— Goal (@goal) May 21, 2021
The bigger picture
Benzema found himself thrown out of the France set-up in 2016 in the midst of a scandal relating to him and former Les Bleus team-mate Mathieu Valbuena, who also saw his international career come to an end around the same time.
The scandal involved allegations of blackmail related to a sex tape and the case will go to trial in October 2021.
Tempers further flared between player and coach when, in a 2016 interview to Marca, Benzema accused Deschamps of “bowing to pressure from a racist part of France” by excluding him.
“You want to make me talk about nasty things… There is one word: ‘racist’,” Deschamps told Telefoot.
“Since that day, I have not been the same. I don’t see things the same way, I disconnected myself from everything. It was very violent.”
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