It has been six years since Karim Benzema's last game with the French National Team, but that wait will be over after Didier Deschamps decided to lift the "ban" that kept the striker away from Les Blues due to a legal problem.
Speaking in the press conference where he revealed the names of the footballers that will take part of the UEFA Euro, Deschamps admitted that Benzema and himself had a long chat before he ended up deciding to call him up.
"Why now? I don't have the capacity of going back in time and change what I've done. No one can. What really matters is what happens today and tomorrow. There have been some interesting developments, one above all: We saw each other, we had a long discussion, and after that, I had a long time to think about what would happen and I decided to call him up," Deschamps said.
Asked about the topics discussed between them, Deschamps decided not to spill any details.
"I will not reveal a word about what we talked about. All I can say is that he needed that discussion as much as I did," Deschamps added.
The National Team boss admitted that his status as coach for the World Champions forced him to think about what was best for the team regardless of any personal feelings he might have had on this subject.
"I don't want to make it all about him. As the head of the national team, I have always tried to look beyond my personal feelings. I have a huge responsibility, it is far beyond what I may believe," Deschamps concluded.
Before his ban, Benzema had played 81 games for the French side, scoring 27 goals in the process. Currently, he is France's tenth best striker of all time.
