It seems that we won’t see Benzema playing for an NT anytime soon.
He has been rejected by two countries.
Karim Benzema’s exclusion from the France National Team continues to be the case, following his alleged involvement in a scandal involving former teammate Mathieu Valbuena. The Real Madrid star recently asked FFF to allow him to change nations but he has now been rejected by the only eligible choice.
Noël je croyais que vous n’interfériez pas dans les décisions du sélectionneur!Sachez que c’est moi et moi seul qui mettrait un terme à ma carrière internationale.
Si vous pensez que je suis terminé, laissez moi jouer pour un des pays pour lequel je suis éligible et nous verrons.— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) November 16, 2019
“Karim Benzema is a very good player, I have never doubted his qualities,” Le Graet said as reported by Marca. “On the contrary, he shows Real Madrid that he is one of the best players around. But his adventure with the French National team is over.”
As a result, Benzema demanded the French Football Federation that he should be allowed to play for Algeria.
Algeria National Team head coach, Djamel Belmadi, has revealed that he would not take Karim Benzema over his current line-up of strikers. Belmadi’s comments come after Benzema had revealed his desire to play for another country with Algeria being the only eligible nation.
“I have Baghdad Bounedjah, Islam Slimani, Andy Delort, Hillal Soudani. I’m very happy with the players I have,” Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi told Algerian football website DZFoot.
The Real Madrid star had personally asked French Football Federation President Noel le Graet to allow him to play for another country after the latter reiterated that his national team stint was over.
“Noel, I thought you weren’t interfering with the coach’s decisions!
“I want you to know that I and I alone would end my international career. If you think I’m finished, let me play for one of the countries that I’m eligible for and we’ll see.”
Benzema had indeed been approached by Algeria, albeit when he was still playing at a youth level. During his Under-21 days back in December 2006, the Real Madrid striker was approached by the then Algerian Football Federation President Hamid Haddadj and head coach Jean-Michel Cavalli concerning a potential switch. However, he turned them down to focus on playing for France instead.
He played eighty-one times, scoring twenty-seven goals, for the France Senior Team between 2007 and 2016.
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