Karim Benzema has strongly suggested that he will retire from international football following France’s defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or played no part in the World Cup in Qatar after he was ruled out due to an injury picked up in training one day before the tournament.
The 35-year-old striker, who has won 97 international caps for France and sits fifth on their all-time scorers list with 37 goals, also played no part in their 2018 World Cup victory.
Benzema was not selected by France for six years, between 2015 and 2021, over for his role in an alleged blackmail plot against international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.
The Real Madrid captain was recalled by France manager Didier Deschamps for the Euro 2020 finals last summer, which also came amid the best form of his career.
But the five-time Champions League winner was ruled out of the World Cup due to a thigh injury, with Deschamps confirming before France’s clash against Argentina that Benzema would not be involved in the final despite returning to action with Real Madrid.
In Benzema’s absence, Olivier Giroud scored four goals for France while Kylian Mbappe scored eight to win the Golden Boot, including a hat-trick in the final.
And a day after Argentina ended France’s bid to win back-to-back World Cups, Benzema took to social media and appeared to call time on his international career.
Benzema tweeted a picture of himself wearing a France shirt along with the caption: “I made the effort and the mistakes it took to be where I am today and I’m proud of it! I have written my story and ours is ending.”
