Karim Benzema has responded to a recent interview by Didier Deschamps about the player’s departure from the World Cup. The Real Madrid striker insinuated that the France manager was not telling the truth regarding the issue. Benzema suffered a thigh injury in training three days before their start to the tournament in Qatar.

Manager claims Benzema left the squad on his own

Deschamps told Le Parisien that Benzema left his French teammates ahead of the World Cup against the coach’s wishes. “There’s only one truth, and Karim knows it well,” stated Deschamps.

“Karim is annoyed because this World Cup meant a lot to him. [After the results of a scan confirmed his injury] he told me he was ‘dead.’ In the best-case scenario, his return to training couldn’t have been before December 10. When I left him, I said ‘Karim, there’s no hurry. Organize your return with the team manager.’ When I woke up, I realized he had gone. It was his decision.”

Forward strikes back calling coach a liar

Benzema, however, posted a story on his Instagram on Friday that included the quotes by Deschamps. Along with the allegations, and a photo of the two Frenchman, the striker also wrote “but what audacity” with a clown emoji in the post. He also posted another story labeling Deschamps as a liar.

The player’s agent previously hit out at Deschamps as well. In a post on Twitter, Karim Djaziri asked the France manager why he insisted on leaving his client out of the team. “I’ve consulted three specialists who confirm the diagnosis that Benzema could have been fit from the round of 16, to be on the bench at least!” Djaziri tweeted in December. “Why did you ask him to leave so quickly?”

“A week after his departure, Benzema started running again,” the agent continued. “After four days of training he played 30 minutes in a friendly for Real Madrid…. Keep on lying, the truth is coming.”

The fractured relationship between Benzema and the France national team goes back to 2015. Benzema was forced out of the team for blackmailing a fellow French teammate. He did not feature for Deschamps and France for nearly six years. Following the latest issue with the manager, Benzema announced his retirement from the France team in December.

Photo : IMAGO / PanoramiC