France forward Antoine Griezmann says he hopes Real Madrid star Karim Benzema and Lyon playmaker Matieu Valbuena both return to the national team line up for the European Championships.
Benzema has been suspended by the French FA while he is involved in a case surrounding an alleged attempt to extort money from Valbuena to help get rid of a sex tape the Lyon man was involved in. If found guilty, the punished could be as severe as a five-year jail term.
The Los Blancos striker was dropped from the France team from the friendlies against Germany and England in November and has since been told he won’t be selected until the outcome of his case is clear. Under the terms of the investigation, he is not allowed to communicate with Valbuena.
Benzema has received the backing of boss Zidane and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. And now Atletico striker Griezmann says he wants to see the duo back in the team sooner rather than later. France are hosts of the tournament this summer.
The striker told L’Equipe: “I hope they will both return. They are two important players for us, on the field and off. We need them. They would both have the same goal at Euro 2016, to win, so I think they would put that above everything. But what has happened has happened, we will see where it leads.”
