France star Benzema retires from international duty on his birthday

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Absent from France's 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign due to a thigh injury, Karim Benzema retired Monday from international football on his 35th birthday.

"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 said in a post on Instagram accompanied by a photo of him in a France jersey.

Real Madrid and France forward Benzema scored 37 goals in 97 international caps.

He represented Les Bleus in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the EURO 2008, 2012 and 2020 tournaments.

But Benzema did not feature in the 2022 World Cup after hurting the quadriceps on his left thigh in November, a day before the Qatar 2022 tournament kicked off.

He was injured in a training session in Qatar and then went back to Real Madrid for rehab and made good progress.

The French Football Federation previously said that Benzema would need three weeks to recover.

The French sports daily L'Equipe said Monday that Benzema, who won the prestigious Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) award in October, wanted to stay with France and have a chance to play once he recovered.

But the French team's head coach Didier Deschamps and the team doctor disagreed so he was not recalled for France's future fixtures in the World Cup.

Real Madrid confirmed in a Twitter video on Dec. 12 that Benzema attended the club's training a couple of days before the France vs. Morocco semifinal.

In Sunday's World Cup final, France, without Benzema, lost to Argentina on penalties to return home with a silver medal.