The Karim Benzema story has become so outlandish that it now seems unfair to lump it in with Dream Team-esque plotlines. Sex tapes, blackmail, cocaine trafficking connections, it really does have it all. We're already looking forward to the dark and sultry French film, we're even looking forward to the subsequently butchered Hollywood edition.
But until that happens, there's the small case of the truth coming out and it seems that may be coming out in rather unusual circumstances. It must be said that these are uncorroborated reports but, in what must be a bit of an embarrassment to French prosecutors, radio station Europe 1 have obtained the transcript of a key conversation in the case.
The conversation involves Benzema and a childhood friend of his, who was alleged to have acted as an intermediary between the blackmailers and Benzema who subsequently spoke to Valbuena. The transcript has since been translated by the likes of Spanish outlets Marca and Sport and it's fairly incredible stuff.
The conversation in question reportedly took place between Benzema and his friend on October 6th while the Real Madrid striker was with the French squad, and after he had allegedly spoken to Valbuena about paying his blackmailers for the copy of a sex tape.
Benzema is alleged to have said;
I don’t think Mathieu is taking us seriously, he thinks it’s a joke.
I said to him: ‘I’m going to fix this for you.’ I gave him my word that there is not another copy [of the tape]. I said to him: ‘If you want the video destroyed, come to Lyon, see him directly.’
He asked me: ‘Can you see my tattoos?’ I responded: ‘You can see everything. I saw it a week ago, before coming [to the France squad].’
He panicked a bit. I said to him: ‘Do what you want, if you don’t want to pay, carry on with your life, but I have warned you.’
I then said to him that’s all I could do, that now my friend is in charge, who is the one that knows the person who has the video, that I don’t know him.
I said: ‘If you want to fix this, I can help you. I will give you their numbers and you can meet with them [and sort things out].
Truly unbelievable stuff. It makes Saipan look like a playground tif in the grand scheme of things.
