Four days before the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, the field has not yet fully regained its rights on the other side of the Pyrenees. Kylian Mbappé’s choice to stay at PSG rather than join Real always makes a lot of noise. Guest of the show El Chiringuito, Karim Benzema could not escape the subject of the moment. “Did you feel betrayed by Mbappé?” asks star presenter Josep Pedrerol. “Betrayed? Why?” Benzema replies, amazed.
“Everyone should be focused on their business. If Mbappé, like any player, wants to do something, I’m not going to call him to tell him what to do. Everyone decides their future, ”continues the Real Madrid striker who also confirms that he has a very good relationship with the world champion. “Me, I am here, quiet, and I am preparing the match on Saturday, he adds. Everyone does what they want for their own good. If I was surprised that he didn’t come to Madrid? Like everyone. But that’s his business. He’s playing in Paris and that’s it. We have a very important match on Saturday that we will have to prepare well.
Asked about his latest Instagram posts, the subject of many interpretations on social networks, Benzema sweeps away any idea of a message sent to his teammate in the France team. “It’s not against Mbappé or whoever,” he explains of the photo where he raises his index finger to the Real crest. I have a lot of love for Real Madrid, they are the best club in the world. It’s more important than anything and we all need to be focused for Saturday. There is no story of so-and-so betrayal.”
Benzema smiles, finally, at the evocation of the cliché of rapper 2Pac, seen by some as a way of evoking a betrayal of Mbappé: “Look at my Instagram, I have 10 or 15 photos of Tupac. He’s my favorite rapper, it has nothing to do with football. These are internet things, I am in reality. I do not post a photo to send a message. If I have a message, I will see the person concerned and I talk about it with him.
Also interviewed by the Spanish channel Movistar, Benzema said: “I prefer not to talk. I’m not angry, I can just tell you that I’m focused on the Champions League final which is more important than listening to something else (…) This is not the time to talk about these little things.”
