With club football taking a two-week break, players are gearing up to embark on the latest international break, one of which is Karim Benzema, who looks set to depart Real Madrid for the France camp in frustration.
The 27-year-old Blancos striker publicly vented his disappointment with manager Rafael Benitez after he substituted him off in Sunday’s Atletico Madrid derby for the 6th time in 8 games, despite scoring the opening goal.
"Substitutions are what the coach decides, I'm just there to help my team-mates," Benzema told AS after being taken off the pitch in the 77th minute for the 5th time in 6 La Liga starts.
"It's true I'm fed up of being taken off. I'm calm and will continue to work so I'm not always subtituted. He took me off to get a result, for defensive reasons.
"It's true that the electronic board always shows the No.9. Ask Benitez why that is."
Now, however, with the former Lyon ace preparing for his nation's clash with Armenia, Les Blues coach Didier Deschamps has chosen a totally opposite approach to the Merengues boss and claims that he will not substitute Benzema.
Benzema, with 25 international goals to his name, is France’s talisman forward. Nonetheless, Deschamps argues that the player brings a lot more to the squad than mere goals.
"I won't substitute him," he said. "Benzema is a team player, he is very important for us.
"He always wants to score with us, but scoring is not everything to him."
Other options up front for the 1998 World Cup winners are Alexandre Lacazette and Olivier Giroud, though both are yet to hit top fear this season, with the latter even being booed by France's own fans in their tie with Serbia.
