MATHIEU VALBUENA, the victim of Karim Benzema’s sextape blackmail, has stunningly revealed he believes the Real Madrid striker deserves to win the Ballon d’Or.
Last year, Benzema was found guilty of a sex tape blackmail plot targeting his former France teammate Valbuena.
Benzema has had a sensational season with Real Madrid Credit: Getty
Valbuena was the victim of a sextape blackmail involving Benzema Credit: Reuters The forward was handed a one-year suspended jail sentence for helping four friends to blackmail Valbuena.
And last week Benzema dropped his appeal into the conviction.
Now Valbuena has spoken about his ex-national team colleague, surprisingly insisting that he deserves the Ballon d’Or for a sensational season.
Speaking to RMC, he said: “It wouldn’t be honest to say that Benzema doesn’t deserve the Ballon d’Or.
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Karim Benzema ends appeal over conviction over attempted blackmail of Valbuena “Yes, he deserves it. I can speak objectively on a sporting level and I do it willingly, happily. There’s no problem.”
Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 appearances for Real Madrid this season, winning the LaLiga title and Champions League.
He was the top scorer in both competitions, netting 27 times in the league and a remarkable 15 times in 12 European matches.
The Frenchman is currently the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or later this year.
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It would make him only the second player after Madrid teammate Luka Modric to win the award outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo since 2008.
Meanwhile, Valbuena insists he does not hold the case against Benzema but admits he is happy that the appeal has been dropped.
“I don’t hold a grudge at all and I always said what I had to say,” he said.
“They were difficult moments from which I was able to recover. Now everyone goes their own way.”
He then added: “Relinquishing an appeal means many things in my opinion, then everyone can think what they want.
“For me the most important thing is to be able to move on, because seven years is nothing.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
