Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema announced a shock retirement from international football on his 35th birthday with a heartbreaking tweet. Benzema’s announcement comes a day after France’s painful loss on penalties at the FIFA World Cup 2022. Benzema was left frustrated and forced to withdraw from France’s squad for Qatar due to injury after his fabled return to the international setup.
The news of his retirement will break the hearts of millions of his and French fans around the world.
"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," Benzema wrote in his retirement announcement (translated from French).
Despite being in coach Didier Deschamps’ initial 26-man squad, Benzema was unable to kick a ball at the World Cup. However, questions around the Real Madrid star continued to annoy the French coach. While Benzema did not make the Qatar trip due to a knock, he is now training with his Spanish club. He retires having made 97 appearances and scored 37 times.
The France forward has had his ups and downs in international career. Despite being a successful footballer, Benzema faced rejection in his home country due to a sex tape scandal. The Ballor d’Or won the French hearts for the ace forward once again. He became the fifth French player, first since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, to win the highest prize.
That came around the time of the comeback to the international circuit after France reached Euro 2016 final and won World Cup 2018 without him. While France have had success in recent times, Benzema has largely not been a part of it. At the Euro 2020, he finally shone for France which were knocked out early by Switzerland on penalties.
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