The Real Madrid striker is accused of conspiracy for trying to force money from Valbuena over a video taken from his smartphone. Both the players were key members of the French squad in the early 2010s. This affair caused Les Bleus a lot of issues as both players were kept out of the selection process.
“I apologize from the bottom of my heart, I really regret it,”
Mustapha Zouaoui told Valbuena during the trial’s second day. Mustapha is part of the quartet, including Benzema, accused of holding Valbuena to ransom back in 2015.
Mustapha had planned this idea to blackmail Valbuena. Valbuena has admitted that the plot has left him fearing both his safety and his career.
Karim Benzema is not attending the proceedings in Versailles. The 33-year-old claims that he was only trying to help Valbuena when he spoke to him about this matter back in 2015. He told Mathieu that he should find someone to manage this affair and deal with some serious criminals.
Valbuena told the court that Benzema was persistent and suggested that Valbuena settle the matter by offering payment in kind in football tickets. The Olympiakos midfielder admits that this left him frightened. Prosecutors reckon that Benzema was attempting to force his former France team-mate into paying hush money.
Benzema’s lawyer said on Wednesday that Valbuena was just jealous of Benzema’s success, which is the only motive of this case. If found guilty, Los Blancos player will be imprisoned for a maximum of five years and will have to pay a fine worth 70,000 euros or 81,000 dollars.
“His reasoning is simple: ‘Me, I was sidelined (from the team) and never brought back and declined in sporting terms while there is Karim Benzema who is flying high in global football,”
lawyer Sylvain Cormier told reporters outside the courtroom.
This year, Benzema found a way back into the national team as he was included in Didier Deschamps’s squad for the 2020 Euros. The striker has also revived his career at the club level as the striker has grown in prominence since Cristiano Ronaldo left Santiago Bernabeu.
Benzema has heavily influenced Real Madrid’s results over the last two seasons. He is currently enjoying his peak and is one of the best players in the world. He has already scored 11 goals and recorded eight assists in just 11 La Liga and Champions League appearances this season.
Valbuena, 37, could not don the famous Les Bleus jersey ever again. This incident destroyed the nimble-footed player’s career, which is why Mustapha Zouaoui apologized to the attacking midfielder.
Former Marseille man was one of the most creative French midfielders during the early 2010s. The agile midfielder racked up 13 and 12 assists in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, respectively.
Due to his stellar performances in Ligue 1, he earned a 7 million euro move to Dynamo Moscow in 2015 and later on went on to play for Lyon, Fenerbahce and Olympiakos. He also boasts 50 appearances for France, all of which he earned before the accusation.
