How You Like Me Now? - The Karim Benzema Thread

The midget. By far.

 

I also dont think Messi was the best player in the last 12months but he has built a hype train that any panenka penalty is seen as a sign of greatness. Messi can retire but will still get votes

 

1.Benzema
2.Lewandovski
3.Kante

thats my top 3 for this years Ballon door.

Benzema was the best player overall,goals ,assists,passing,creativity,consistensy.

Lewandowski could have won 2 BDORS in a row if it wasnt the injury but his goalscoring was impressive and breaking the Gerd Muller record is an amazing achivement .................Kante dominated the CL on his own .

Messi was a flop in every big game how is he going to win it again ?

 

Of course, Messi.

https://www.eurosport.com/football/...versial-barcelona-exit_sto8591464/story.shtml

 

Which makes it a farce. He hasn't been the best for some time. People think class (which is eternal) is consistent play.

The best player has been Benzema. No one has done more for their club and country. Scoring goals in Germany or France against sides that are so inconsistent and cower before your club isn't impressive.

Neither is winning a tournament which they made yearly specifically for you to win it (no matter how much people deny this).

 

Just saw the transcript of Benzema and his associate talking about blackmailing Valbuena. I know this was 6 years ago and he is a different guy now but it genuinely made me nauseous.

Can’t pretend to know Karim’s situation in his hometown and maybe he was just gassing his friend up and not acting out of malice, but damn. He may or may not win the Ballon d’Or, but he does need to pay his dues for this PoS behavior.

 

It's always been a popularity contest; Iniesta and Sneijder for sure were let down.

 

Not everyone gets the benefit of growing up plush or in positive situations.

I didn't. I made the best of what I had and was blessed to have great family. Not everyone has that either

 

Absolutely; and maybe he didn’t have the right family situation growing up to keep him grounded; or nip his idiotic gangster tendencies in the bud when he was a teenager.

But the truth is that there is audio evidence of him being clearly complicit to a ********ed up thing and he was 27 years old then, not a teenager. In my mind I will forgive him once he has paid his dues for this, whatever the court decides those dues are.

 

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Henry arguing against himself if he is making France and Egypt equals, any knowledgeable, neutral fan would know the difference.

France underwhelmed and underachieved at the Euros anyway, it's not like they were inspired to victory like Portugal in 2016.

As for the "he's been the complete player for a long[er] time", well that's playing into the argument for Messi. Maybe CR7 and Lewa don't do as much link up play but their teams need their goals just as much as Benzema’s, arguably moreso.

 

If we are being unbiased, Messi is no less proloific than Ron or Lewa. And assists wise, he's far ahead. Ron was just on another level in CL KOs from 2013-18 while Messi disappeared on many nights. That's how Ron managed to close the gap interms of BDR then.

Now Benzema is putting up prime Messi esque numbers. 22 G/A so far this season.

 

Lol why does he need your forgiveness?

Arrogance.

Worry about your own flaws (and seeking forgiveness) unless you're telling us all your perfect.

 

Wouldn’t you say there’s a big difference between having flaws/not being perfect and being clearly implicated in an extortion scheme with gang members?

Like yes everyone has flaws but when your response to someone condemning this sort of behavior is ‘no one is perfect look at your own flaws’ I have to wonder where you actually draw the line. Or do you not see this extortion (and the transcript of his wiretapped calls) as that serious of an issue?

Like I said, there are most likely factors that go way deeper here, but as you so aptly pointed out, it is possible to come from a tough situation and not be involved in shady shit; and I think it is fair to hold Benzema to that standard given that he was a 27 year old millionaire and idol. And if the facts find that he ********ed up, even as one of his biggest supporters I feel he should answer for that.

 

You don't need to be perfect to not engage in criminal activities.

 

Who are you to weigh what is worse? If we went through your life seeing you exposed, I'm sure there are things someone somewhere would take great offense seeing... just like with anyone else.

Anyways, I'm still trying to rap my mind around him (or any athlete) needing your forgiveness.

Yeah, you also don't need to be perfect to not engage with criminal corrupt mafioso robberies your country blind and almost get throw in prison for perjury.

It's life. Shit happens.

 

it is not the first time that Messi gets the award unworthy. So why are we even discussing it? In my opinion, Lewa was robbed last year. He might or might not get it.

As for Benzema's past, he was punished for it. For this award, we should move on, but I understand that it is also a fact of life. Once you screw up, it would always get back to you.

 

So there was no demand for money during the blackmail?

Oh and who needs to enlist someone else to transfer data from one phone to another. He could've easily just done it himself like the rest of us. He himself due to carelessness put himself in that position

 

This i believe is that transcript of the phone call between Benz and his friend

Benzema: Go ahead, I saw the other guy [Valbuena].

Zenati: And, what do you think?

Benzema: Um, what do I think, the truth?

Zenati: Yes.
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Benzema: I think that he does not take us seriously.

Zenati: No.

Benzema: There you have it.

Zenati: Yes, so that means in reality, I think, he will not give anything away, no?

Benzema: Yes, yes, yes, yes, he is not taking us seriously.
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Zenati: What did he say to you?

Benzema: What did he say to me, euh, you know at the beginning he believed, he believed (inaudible) you see, that it was a joke… I told him: I’m here to help matters. You need to see this guy. He will come. He will speak to you. But I give you my word that there is not another copy (of the sextape). After that we spoke, and spoke, in the video you see my tattoos (Valbuena asked).

You see everything, in short. I said to him. I am serious, I said to him, honestly, I have seen it, the video, I said to him. He said I know. But what do they want? I said to him, I have no idea what they want, I said to him, it is not me, he said to me yes, he wants money. Well, in my opinion you see, I said if I had a video like that of a guy… Well in any case they want to create a buzz, it would not be the same buzz if it was you…

Zenati: You’re right.
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Benzema: Yes.

Zenati: (laughs)

Benzema: But brother, brother, it is true that it is true that it will not make the same buzz as it would for me, but brother you are putting an end to his career brother. It is needless, he is having tomatoes thrown at him. I said to him, it is not a question of buzz, but a question of pride.

Zenati: Um.

Benzema: I spoke to him about family, I said that it has nothing to do with buzz, we don’t give a shit, I said to him then. I said to him that now that if someone releases a photo, a video like that. That for me that does absolutely nothing but your mother, your father they will see your woman or I have no idea who. You see, after that he was thinking, thinking. I said to him that in any case he should do what he wants. There, I am with the French national team until Sunday, if you give me your number, I will give it, I will give it to my friend. He will come to see you in Lyon, you will discuss it, you see with him, he did not want to. Well, its your life, but I warned you eh?

Zenati: It is good brother, you have done really well.

Benzema: There you go, I said to him that. After that I do not know what he will do. He will call his agent, he will say that they have the video. I said to him, listen, there is no intermediary, no lawyer, no friend, no agent, no police, its not what you want.

Zenati: Um.

Benzema: I said to him that if you want the video to be destroyed, come see my friend in Lyon. You see him directly and you speak with him, you send nobody.

Zenati: Well, there you go, that’s good.

Benzema: He said to me where did the video come from? I said to him: I have no idea where it came from.

Zenati: When he goes to sleep, he will know that you have told the truth.

Benzema: Well no, he was completely white.

Zenati: Yes.

Benzema: He said to me, the video, where did you see it? How long ago? After, he was asking me questions, but it was like how… I saw him gulping, he started gulping twice, three times.

Zenati: (laughs)

Benzema: You see, you see a guy when he is panicking, have you seen that?

Zenati: You know that they are the best, when they do there little thing but na, na, na, na and after…

Benzema: Yes, he even said to me: you know who was the first who told me, it is Cissé. I said yes but Cissé had a hard time like that.

Zenati: Um.

Benzema: I said to him, he (Cissé) did what? He said to me: he paid. I said to him: and the video, was it released or not? He said to me no. I said to him: me when I say to you that I have one word, it is that the video will not be released. Now, you do what you want. I came to see you because I saw this video, I was told about it, I cannot laugh with you in the dressing room and not tell you.

He said to me yes but when do they want to release it, if they release it, for the Euros? I said to him, well, I think, it is then when they would probably release it eh. I said to him if it was me who had a video like that, me I would not ask for money, I would release it, I would sell it to journalists. You see, I told him that.

Zenati: Um.

Benzema: He said to me yes, well, thanks a lot and all, give me a day or two and I will tell you (Benzema laughs). He will call me, give me the contact details, please (he laughs).

Zenati: (he laughs) It is for him. Me, us, brother, we are helping him.

Benzema: Me, I am helping you (Benzema to Valbuena)… I said to him look, I don’t give a shit, it is not me. I came to see you. Yes thank you, it is good of you. He said to me: What do they want? I said to him: me I do not know. My aim, my thing ends here, you see, my train ends here. Now my friend (Zenati), he takes the matter up. He is the guy who knows the person, there is only one person who has your video. But I do not know him but my friend, he knows him.

Now if you want to sort this out, give your number, I will give it to him and you can take it up with him.

Zenati: Yes, perfect.

Benzema: I said to him: he is my friend, my mate, my best friend, he is like my brother. It is like as if he had a video of me.

Zenati: Hum.

Benzema: He said to me, yes, but you what would you have done? I said to him: me, I don’t give a shit about buzz, you see, so I would have paid just for my family… I said to him: you, if it is about buzz, if it is just about the buzz and you have warned your family, and they don’t care, well then let it be released, I said to him.

Zenati: Well yes, even I would have said that brother, but there you have it… (he laughs) Yes, yes its us brother, we are here in any case to sort it out. If he does not want it, then leave him, he can deal with these piranhas, he will deal with these piranhas and then he will…

Benzema: They will piss all over him.

Zenati: They will piss all over him brother, I’m fired up eh.

Benzema: The piranhas they will eat him, bro.

Zenati: Yes when you said to me that he was a good friend, I said to you yes after maybe they will ask the friend, they will say to him, I do not know, two football match tickets or I do not know what else they are playing at.

Benzema: (he laughs)

Zenati: There you go, job done, after that he will do what he wants.


I am no lawyer Yes, he does sounds like a very immature guy but nothing in that convo should really hold up in court as evidence. He is being very vague in that phone conversation. We could probably work out that he's helping his friend out who in turn is helping his friends out but would it really hold up in court? I don't think so

 

Based on the transcript it's sounding like he's edging Velbuena to pay the extortion money to avoid a leak. While that might be dumb advice, it's hard to tell if he's doing it maliciously. The last few paragraphs of dialogue makes it seem as if Benzema and his friend Zenati are trying to help him avoid the leak but are clearly aware that the people with the tape are shady people who have done this before. They incite him to "pay up", even if not directly. They also mount the pressure by telling him to "do it for his family".

As a footballer, Benzema has done a lot of dumb stuff. He has been sentenced for hiring underage "escorts" too. He really needs to keep better company.

But the video isn't conclusive evidence that he was directly complicit to the blackmailing scheme, but he does seem to be an accessory to this criminal activity by knowingly getting involved. Even if his intentions came from a willingness to help, he should've stayed far away from goons who exploit people. Childhood buddies or not.

 

One thing is for sure, this thing is timed perfectly to derail the hypetrain for him to win the Ballon D'Or.

 

From the transcript it sounds like Benz knows of the blackmailers and doesn't know them directly. They probably have a street rep in France. No way to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Benz played an active part in the scheme. It sounds like he is telling him you can pay up if you care about your family or not if they are ok with it. That doesn't sound like someone pressuring a guy to pay up. Towards the end it sounds like his friend doesn't even know what they want citing footy tickets as a potential price.

Seems to me like they are gossiping between friends.