2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema has officially announced his retirement from international football just hours after France's 2022 FIFA World Cup final defeat to Argentina.
The Real Madrid striker missed the tournament in Qatar after sustaining an injury just days before Les Bleus' opening encounter against Australia.
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Although he managed to recover in time for Sunday's final, manager Didier Deschamps ruled out the possibility of the 35-year-old's return ahead of the decider.
It is believed, though, that the forward was not happy about being sent home at the beginning of the tournament as he wanted to stay in Qatar in the hopes of being available for the latter stages of the competition, leading to reports of a fallout between Benzema and Deschamps.
The former Olympique Lyon star has now confirmed that he is calling time on his international career, on his 35th birthday.
He wrote on his official Twitter account: "I made the effort and the mistakes it took to be where I am today and I'm proud of it! I have written my story and ours is ending."
J'ai fait les efforts et les erreurs qu'il fallait pour être là où je suis aujourd'hui et j'en suis fier ! J'ai écrit mon histoire et la nôtre prend fin. #Nueve pic.twitter.com/7LYEzbpHEs
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) December 19, 2022
The Los Blancos talisman leaves the national team having made 97 appearances and scored 37 goals since his March 2007 debut.
His time with the 2018 World Cup winners was also marred by a lengthy hiatus due to a blackmail scandal involving him and his former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena in 2015, resulting in him missing out on his nation's success in Russia 2018.
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