Benzema: "It's a big misunderstanding"

French newspaper Le Monde has had access to parts of Karim Benzema's testimony in court in relation to the investigation into the Mathieu Valbuena blackmail scandal.

"I think it's a big misunderstanding. From the outset I just wanted to inform him [Valbuena] about this matter involving him and to help him, because I've had a similar sort of thing done to me before. He's a France teammate and a friend", Benzema told the judge.

The striker insisted that he has never seen the sex tape allegedly featuring Valbuena. He went on to state that it was Karim Zenati, his childhood friend, who had acted as an intermediary for the blackmailers, and who had revealed to him that the video was something "serious". "That's what I told Mathieu. I formed a picture of it based on what Karim [Zenati] told me, because I trust him and he's my best friend".

Benzema also hit out at the coverage of his wire-tapped phone conversation with Zenati: "You can tell that I'm kidding and I only talk about helping him. There was no hidden agenda".

The Real Madrid star brushed aside his use of the slang term 'tarlouze' (roughly equivalent to 'faggot') to refer to Valbuena: "I was on edge because of the media stories. I thought he'd gone to the police to report me. Anyway, 'tarlouze' is something you can say to anyone, including your mates. For me and my generation, it's a term of endearment".