Karim Benzema has refused to travel to Qatar to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup final after his relationship with coach Didier Deschamps is said to have broken down.
The Ballon d’Or winner picked up an injury just two days before the start of the tournament and left the French camp before a ball was kicked.
However, Deschamps opted not to call a replacement, leaving question marks as to whether Benzema – who has returned to team training last week – could be a part of squad.
Deschamps, though, dismissed those reports, saying he’ll continue to focus on the 24 players at his disposal.
Meanwhile, L’Equipe (as per GFFN) are reporting that Benzema wanted to stay in Qatar while recovering from his injury, but Deschamps and the medical team made the decision to sent the 34-year-old home.
As a consequence, Benzema has been left disappointed with the decision and there has been no contact between him and the coaching team, including Deschamps.
Benzema was invited by French president Emmanuel Macron to take the presidential plane in order to attend Sunday’s World Cup final between France and Argentina but rejected the offer, as per RMC Sport.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nkunku, who also missed the tournament due to a last-minute injury, accepted the offer, with Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Presnel Kimpembe all expected to be in attendance on Sunday.
