Karim Benzema reportedly declines invite to attend France's World Cup final

Updated Dec. 17, 2022 4:17 p.m. ET

France star Karim Benzema has declined an invitation from French president Emmanuel Macron to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, according to a report by ESPN. So not only will Benzema not play against Argentina, as France coach Didier Deschamps begrudgingly confirmed on Saturday, he reportedly won't even be in attendance to watch his teammates.

The reason behind Benzema's decision could be as simple as him wanting to continue training in Madrid. Benzema was originally part of Deschamps' 26-man squad but a left quadriceps injury effectively ruled him out of the tournament. It wasn't until just recently that Benzema returned to training with Real Madrid.

However, there could be more to the story. On Friday, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner posted a cryptic Instagram picture with a caption that read "I don't care" in French. 

Benzema and Deschamps have a long history of not getting along. Benzema wasn't called up to the national team for five years in part due to the fact that he called Deschamps racist for leaving him off of the Euro 2016 squad. Deschamps said last year that he will "never forget" Benzema's accusation even though he recalled him for Euro 2020.

There's always going to be a healthy amount of skepticism with issues relating to Benzema and the French national team. In this case, Deschamps is ruling out arguably his best goalscorer making a return and Benzema is reportedly passing on the opportunity to support his teammates in person.

Coverage of the World Cup final between France and Argentina starts at 9 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app.

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