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Football

27th Dec 2022

Karim Benzema’s agent reveals that he could have played at World Cup

Callum Boyle

Benzema was withdrawn from the France squad due to injury

Karim Benzema’s agent has revealed that his client was fit enough to play at the World Cup despite being sent home early.

Benzema was sent home from Qatar days before their opening group game against Qatar after picking up an injury.

As France reached the final, speculation about the 35-year-old returning to the squad to play in the decider against Argentina emerged, but Benzema was never called upon.

Instead, the Real Madrid talisman refused Didier Deschamps’ approach before retiring from international football days after the penalty shootout defeat.

The rumours behind the forward’s sudden retirement sparked debate that he may have been involved in an argument with Deschamps, and Benzema’s long-time agent has revealed fresh details on what has happened.

Karim Djaziri tweeted a video detailing the extent of Benzema’s pre-World Cup injury before seemingly taking aim at Deschamps’ decision to send his client home early. He said:

“I consulted three specialists who confirmed the diagnosis that Karim 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?”

France didn’t appear to miss one of their best players too much as Olivier Giroud stepped up and filled the void – scoring six goals and becoming Le Bleus’ all-time leading goalscorer.

The likes of Antoine Griezmann also flourished in the Middle East. Reports in Spain before the tournament claimed that Griezmann was getting fed up by the amount of coverage Benzema was receiving compared to him in the build up to the World Cup.

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