At 37, Karim Benzema has been playing in Saudi Arabia since 2023, but the French striker is far from pre-retiring at Al-Ittihad. Author of 49 goals in 74 matches (all competitions) with the Saudi club for two years, the 2022 Ballon d’Or demonstrates that he still has something under his belt despite his age, like Cristiano Ronaldo (40 years old) or Lionel Messi (38 years old). Six months before the end of his contract, KB9 remains a player whose future is being talked about.
If he refuses to say more about his future, Benzema still sent a few messages at the start of the evening, during a long interview given to The Team. And among these messages, there is that of a desire to compete in the next World Cup organized in the United States, Canada and Mexico. At 37 years old, Benzema knows that the 2026 edition would be his last chance to play an international tournament after the fiasco of 2022. As a reminder, the Nueve had been summoned by Didier Deschamps, but he had to withdraw just before the start of the competition organized in Qatar due to an injury.
“If I am called to the national team, I come to play football”
A package which sparked a huge controversy, with Benzema even going so far as to call DD a liar on his social networks. The player even promised a truth interview to shed light on this story. Since then, observers have had to wait until the trial of journalist Daniel Riolo to get a more detailed version of Deschamps. Today, Benzema no longer wants to return to this quarrel which he describes as a closed case. The French international (97 caps, 37 goals) now seems focused on one of the only major trophies missing from his record. Nobody knows if Didier Deschamps will call on him, but the native of Bron has made it clear that he will not say no if the national coach wants to take him with him to the United States.
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“But who doesn’t want to play in the World Cup? Everyone wants to play this competition. Afterwards, say to yourself: “can we take me on…” As I am someone who loves football and competition, obviously, if you tell me to go to the French team to play in a World Cup and I tell you no, I am a liar. Me, I’m a football player. So, I play football. When they call me, I come, I play. I have goals in my head. I love football and I love winning. I like trophies. That’s what matters most to me. There, I am in my club. If I am called to the national team, I come to play football. And it stops there. (…) There, we are talking about a World Cup. Obviously, these are not things where you have to say: “No, I don’t want to.” Because it’s a lie to say: “No, I don’t want to play in a World Cup”. The message got through…
