Following France’s loss to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final, Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema appeared to declare his decision to retire from international football on Instagram.
In March 2007, Benzema made his debut for Les Bleus, widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of the modern period. After that, the 35-year-old made up to 97 appearances for Les Bleus, scoring 37 goals during that time.
His international career, however, was not without controversy, as he was barred from the France setup for nearly six years as a result of his involvement in the Mathieu Valbuena blackmail scandal.
He was therefore excluded from France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup victory. In recent years, Benzema has returned to the national team setup and was a member of the team that won the UEFA Nations League in 2017.
He has now made public his decision to retire entirely from international football.
“I made the effort and mistakes it took to be where I am today and I’m proud of it! I wrote my story and ours ends,” he wrote on his social media.