Moments before Les Bleus kicked off their opening game of the tournament against Romania, Karim Benzema shared an image of himself seating in his living room, with his eyes fixed on the screen of his TV pinned to the wall. “Good luck, force” his caption read.
The striker, who was omitted by coach Didier Deschamps following his involvement in the Valbuena Sex-tape scandal, immediately won the sympathy of French fans and TV pundits. How painful to not participate in such a huge tournament, less than a month after helping Real Madrid clinch La Undecima! Still, no beef. Karim has no beef against his national team colleagues.
After the game, which France won 2-1, he applauded Dimitri Payet’s thunderbolt winner:
"Golazo Payet!!! Congrats to the entire squad"
Golazo @dimpayet17 !!! Bravo à toute l'équipe
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) June 10, 2016
On June 23rd, the ex-Lyon forward took time to wish his Real Madrid boss a happy birthday as he tweeted this picture:
He will be catching up with Zidane in a few weeks to help Los Blancos conquer the 2016 European Supercup in Norway against Europa League champions Sevilla on August 9th. As such, Benzema has also been keeping fit.
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As a devoted Muslim, and with no football on his agenda, the 28-year-old star also had the luxury of honoring the Ramadan period in peace with his supporters.
Aïd Moubarak !!! Eïd Mubarak !!! pic.twitter.com/KUnxsAKCIA
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) July 6, 2016
Last Thursday, Benzema crowned France’s historic 2-0 semi-final victory over Germany with the following tweet which translates as:
"Congrats to the entire squad and the staff!!! Come on, one game to go!!!"
Bravo à toute l'équipe et au staff !!! Allez, encore un match !!! #FirstNeverFollows #AllezLesBleus
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) July 7, 2016
On Sunday, Euro 2016 topscorer Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud could complete the job they’ve started in the absence of forward Benzema. They are a win away from denying Portugal their first title in senior football history.
In the meantime, the Real Madrid striker has been enjoying his holidays to the maximum. He sure looks refreshed and Madridistas will also feel relieved. Have a look at some of his relaxing moments, shared via his social media accounts:
Follow me !!! #FirstNeverFollows pic.twitter.com/GQuiZW5WBb
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) June 25, 2016
Follow me !!! pic.twitter.com/1jKTOuOEjA
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) June 24, 2016
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