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Official: Karim Benzema confirms his retirement from international football.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has announced his retirement from international football with France at the age of 35.
Karim Benzema has confirmed his retirement from international football via his social media page, a day after France lost to Argentina in a dramatic 2022 World Cup final.
Due to a thigh injury sustained the day before the competition began in Qatar, Benzema was unable to compete and will not represent France again.
His international career saw him not play for his country for five years after being implicated in a blackmailing scandal.
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However, he reportedly rejected the opportunity to go back to Qatar after falling out with manager Didier Deschamps and has now taken to social media to confirm that he has decided to call time on his international career.
Benzema took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to write: “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.”
J’ai fait les efforts et les erreurs qu’il fallait pour être là où je suis aujourd’hui et j’en suis fier !
J’ai écrit mon histoire et la nôtre prend fin. #Nueve pic.twitter.com/7LYEzbpHEs— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) December 19, 2022
Benzema finishes his France career with 37 goals in 97 caps, but his journey with the national team has been far from smooth since his debut 15 years ago.
Deschamps intends to address his future with the French Football Federation in the new year, but Benzema has chosen to leave the national team rather than wait to see how those discussions turn out.