You Won’t Find Out The Details Of My Meeting With Benzema From Me – Deschamps
France coach Didier Deschamps played down the importance of Karim Benzema’s return after a five-and-a-half year absence ahead of the squad meeting for Euro 2020.
Facing the press at Clarefontaine ahead of the competition, he batted back questions related to the return of the Real Madrid forward to the national team set up.
“I understand that you want to know the details [of the conversation with Benzema], but you won’t get them from me,” Deschamps responded when asked about the meeting.
“From Karim, I don’t know, he’s free to do so. He comes to a group that he knows, that knows him and he has his place, in the same way as the rest of the players.”
It was Deschamps who left Benzema out over his alleged involvement in an attempt to blackmail Mathieu Valbuena, for which he will face a court case in October, but he insisted that it was business as usual for everyone.
“I won’t do anything in particular, I have to manage the group as a whole,” Deschamps added.
Benzema joined the national team training camp in Clairefontaine on Wednesday, five years and seven months after the last time he was called up. The Real Madrid striker arrived smiling and with a thumbs-up 45 minutes before the session was due to begin.
Deschamps’ France will face a tough group at Euro 2020, coming up against Germany, Portugal and Hungary.
