Karim Benzema will not make any attempt to persuade Didier Deschamps to take him to the World Cup, the Real Madrid star telling the France coach: “If you need me, you know where I am”. Benzema has not played for his country since October 2015 after being charged in connection with an alleged blackmail of his French teammate Mathieu Valbuena. Benzema, however, has been a regular at Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane this season and, on ability alone, would almost certainly make the squad in Russia this summer. Asked what he would do to convince Deschamps to call him up to the France squad, Benzema said: “Me? “If you listen properly, La Marseillaise calls for war,” Benzema said.

Source: Punch April 17, 2018 16:41 UTC