Karim Benzema can not wait to play alongside Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid.
Mbappe will be free to negotiate with Real and other clubs from January with a view to joining for free when his contract with PSG expires next June, unless the Ligue 1 side can convince him to sign a new deal.
Paris St Germain (PSG) rejected a bid from Real for Mbappe for €160 million this year, with Spanish and French media reporting they made two further offer — the second of €180 million — which were also turned down.
When asked if he would love to play alongside Mbappe at Madrid, Benzema reacted thus: “Why not? I’ve always said it and I’ll say it again, of course I would like to one day.”
“I enjoy playing with him in the France team and so why not in the future as he is a great player. But right now we have to respect his club, Paris.”
Benzema was dropped from the France squad in 2015 following a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial this month.
He missed the 2018 World Cup victory before being handed a surprise recall by coach Didier Deschamps ahead of this year’s European Championship.
Speaking about winning the Nations League trophy, Benzema said:
“It means a lot to me. It’s my first trophy with my national team and I’m so proud of all the work I did after six years without playing for my country,”
“It makes me very happy, I worked very hard physically and mentally and I’m looking forward to winning another trophy.”
