Benzema in Deeper Trouble Over Valbuena Sex Tape Scandal

Real Madrid forward, Karim Benzema, has confessed to police in

Versailles that he played the role of a middleman between his friend Karim Zenati, and France team mate Mathieu Valbuena in relation to an alleged attempt to blackmail Valbuena.

The Real Madrid player was invited for interrogation by French judicial police on 5 November, with the police bent on finding his involvement in the case, concerning a video of sexual content which included Valbuena, and believed to be in the possession of blackmailers known to Benzema’s childhood friend, Zenati.

According to Agence France-Presse, after denying any involvement in his first two statements to police, Benzema admitted in the third: “I am confused with respect to my friend Karim Zenati, because, after being released from prison and even when he was inside, I looked after him. We are very close”, Benzema is reported as saying. “I had to mediate and facilitate the communication between Karim Zenati and Mathieu".

But police then produced new evidence, including a transcript of a telephone conversation which took place on 6 October in which Benzema, "I spoke to Zenati about how to approach the subject with Mathieu Valbuena", Benzema said. After being asked by Zenati whether Valbuena “would cooperate”, the Madrid player interpreted this as though his team mate “was not prepared to pay up”.

“It wasn’t my intention that Zenati would benefit from this. I didn’t think. Frankly, I’m surprised at how stupid I’ve been”, he told police, adding that his intentions were not to end on the wrong side of the law. "Because Zenati is a serious person and trustworthy", he said, without a word of compassion for Valbuena. BBC