Real Madrid News
Mbappe was one of Benzema’s main supporters in the France national team – report
The theory that Karim Benzema was intentionally evicted from the French National Team last month has been rapidly gaining steam in recent days.
Reports suggest that Didier Deschamps was not a fan of the Ballon d’Or winner’s inclusion and thus exaggerated his injury to send him back.
Further, it has come to light that certain influential players in the dressing room like Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud disliked the Real Madrid star too. However, against popular conception, it has now come to the fore that there were some in favour of his inclusion.
According to reports from COPE (h/t Madrid Xtra), Kylian Mbappe was one of the supporters of Karim Benzema in the dressing room and liked playing with him on the national team.
Mbappe, however, was powerless when it came to Deschamps’ decision to bench his compatriot and could do nothing but watch in silence.
The Real Madrid captain announced his retirement from international football after realising the conspiracy behind the scenes and has even unfollowed several members of the team on social media. His complete commitment and focus will now be on Real Madrid.
Having completely recovered from his injury, the Frenchman is expected to start for Carlo Ancelotti’s side Real Valladolid next week and will have to play a key role if Los Blancos are to push for the title this season.
Meanwhile, Mbappe had a phenomenal run in Qatar and came second to Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Ball. He finished as the top scorer in the tournament with a stunning hat-trick in the final of the world’s biggest competition.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder trained away from the group last week, but has no injury – report
With the international break underway, several Real Madrid players have been called up for national team assignments. The stars who have not travelled for international duty have continued to work at the club’s Valdebebas training facility to prepare for the restart.
Toni Kroos is one such player who has remained in Madrid, having retired from international football back in 2021.
However, there had been concerns growing around the 33-year-old’s physical condition as he regularly did indoor work last week and was not spotted in group training with his teammates.
Now, Sergio Quirante has come up with an update on Kroos’ situation, stating that even though the midfielder largely did individual work inside the facilities over the last week, he is fine and has no injuries.
Taking advantage of the international break, the former Bayern Munich superstar is understood to have gone through an individual program to prepare for the final, decisive stretch of the 2022/23 season.
Kroos not being injured comes as a big positive for Real Madrid, ahead of important games against Real Valladolid and Barcelona within the first five days of April.
The rest of the Real Madrid midfield contingent – Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and Dani Ceballos – are all away on international duties and could return with some fatigue from the travel.
So, it is important that Kroos is fully fit and ready to go as Real Madrid look to cut down the gap to the top of the table in La Liga and also make it to the finals of the Copa del Rey by overturning a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Kroos has played 37 matches this season, chipping in with two goals and five assists in the process. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is still unclear whether he will renew or hang up his boots.
