Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema was arrested by French police earlier on Wednesday over a plot to blackmail French team-mate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape.
Les Blues striker, who was absent from Los Blancos’ squad in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over PSG, was being held by judicial police in Versailles, with the Daily Mail claiming that a “source close to the case” revealed that the French striker is being questioned over his involvement in the incident.
Valbuena, the former Marseille ace who now plies his trade at Lyon, was allegedly blackmailed for money with the threat of publishing the sex tape the consequence if he failed to pay up, with the asking price believed to be between £40,000 to £75,000.
A relative of Benzema was apparently contacted by the blackmailers with the hope of including the 27-year-old Liga BBVA goalscorer in their plot.
Furthermore, as reported by the AFP, Karim brought up the topic of the sex tape to his team-mate, whom he has played alongside several times with, whilst on international duty in October.
Whether Benzema was attempting to coerce Valbuene into paying the blackmailers, or whether he was merely pulling the midfielder’s leg, police are yet to decide.
Fellow French star Djibril Cisse was also arrested over the very same case a month back, but was release with no charges.
The detaining of the former Liverpool attacker raised eyebrows as he had spent two years alongside Valbuena at Les Olympiens from 2006 to 2008.
Last Thursday, Benzema also ran into trouble with the police having been stopped, with his car being confiscated for driving with an invalid license, an affair which turned out to be a mistake on the police’s part.
