France striker Karim Benzema announces retirement from international football

A day after the national team lost a thrilling final in the Qatar World Cup, France's star striker Karim Benzema announced international retirement in a social media post.

On his 35th birthday, Benzema wrote that he made the effort and the mistakes in his career and he is proud of it.

He also stated that he has written his story and its an ending.

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The Real Madrid striker was France's top scorer at the 2014 World Cup but did not play in the country's victorious 2018 World Cup campaign given he was still exiled from the national team for his alleged role in a sex-tape scandal with then-France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

The fallout from that scandal led to a dramatic fall from grace for Benzema.

With his relationship with Deschamps repaired, Benzema scored freely for France with 10 goals in 16 games. Overall, he scored 37 goals in 97 international appearances.

(With PTI input)