France striker Karim Benzema announced his retirement from international football on Monday, a day after the national team lost the World Cup final against Argentina on penalties.
Benzema announced the decision on his 36th birthday. He wrote, “I have tried and made mistakes to get where I am today and I am proud of it! I have written my story and ours is coming to an end.”
Benzema, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, was part of the French squad in Qatar before being ruled out of the World Cup with a thigh injury.
He made his international debut in 2007 and scored 37 goals in 97 matches.
Benzema was out of the national team picture for five years after he was found complicit in blackmail in a sex-tape case that rocked French football.
A court in Versailles handed Benzema a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of EUR 75,000 (USD 80,000) in last year’s trial, which convicted him of involvement in an attempt to blackmail France teammate Mathieu Valbuena in 2015 I went. Benzema was also ordered to pay Valbuena EUR 80,000 in damages.
France coach Didier Deschamps recalled him ahead of the European Championships in 2021, where he scored four goals in the round of 16.
Benzema retires from international football after France’s World Cup final defeat