Real Madrid News
France manager shuts down Benzema World Cup return talks
France manager Didier Deschamps has seemingly ruled out any possibility of Karim Benzema making a shock return to the FIFA World Cup 2022 following his injury earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Real Madrid captain was initially part of the France squad for the World Cup in Qatar. However, a thigh injury saw him get ruled out of contention for the showpiece tournament.
Recent reports, however, indicated that Benzema was close to completing his recovery and could thus make a surprise return to France’s World Cup camp should he become fully fit.
However, Deschamps, speaking in a press conference ahead of the world champions’ final group game against Tunisia, has insisted that such a possibility is something he is not giving a thought to at this point in time.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about now. I spoke to Benzema after he left the training camp. I leave it to you if you want to have a debate about it,“ the France manager said (h/t Andres Onrubia).
Benzema is currently away at the Reunion Islands on a vacation, where he will spend the next few days before returning to Madrid to join Los Blancos’ training ahead of the resumption of the second half of the season.
Having won the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d’Or this year, Benzema could have rounded off 2022 with a possible World Cup triumph as well. But the injury has deprived him of that opportunity.
The Frenchman will focus on recovering completely to help Real Madrid retain their La Liga and Champions League crowns, while the Merengues will also be looking to go the distance in the Spanish Super Cup, the Copa del Rey and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Meanwhile, Deschamps also commented on the possibility of using Benzema’s Real Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga as a left-back against Tunisia, saying: “Camavinga can play on the left side, he even played central defense if we review his history.”
There is no way back for Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. The Belgian international has not given the management any reason to have faith in his abilities over his past four seasons at the club and is unsurprisingly the most important departure for the Merengues in the summer.
Hazard has one more year on his contract in Madrid. However, it is clear that Carlo Ancelotti does not trust him and that any potential replacement manager in the summer will echo his stance.
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Fenerbahce are willing to go all out to sign Hazard this summer. The Turkish side have made the former Chelsea their prime target, yet face a steep task ahead of them.
The 32-year-old is hellbent on seeing out his contract with Los Blancos despite seeing his career sink right before his eyes. It thus becomes complicated for the party to lure away the forward, especially in a competition outside Europe’s top five leagues.
Fenerbahce attempted to sign the winger in the recently concluded winter transfer market. They reached an agreement with Real Madrid but failed to get over the line as they could not convince the player of the move.
The biggest obstacle for the Turkish side will be convincing Hazard to make the move by letting go of his lucrative contract in Madrid. The chances are slim, but not impossible.
Hazard has made just three league appearances and one start for Ancelotti’s side this season in La Liga, a steep fall from last season’s 18 and seven respectively.
His last appearance for the team came back in January when Real Madrid faced Cacereno in the Copa del Rey. In La Liga however, he last played in September 2022 in a 4-1 win over Mallorca.
