Could Karim Benzema actually play for another country? There appears to be a way but the 31-year old would need to lose his French citizenship and potentially take legal action.
Responding to comments made by French football president Noel Le Graet, who said his "adventure with France is over", Benzema was adamant that only he would decide when his international career is over.
The Real Madrid striker also talked up the possibility of playing for another country that he is eligible for - hinting at Algeria, where his parents are from.
The issue he has, however, is FIFA rules state that a player cannot represent more than one nation if they have already played competitively.
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Benzema has played 81 times for France, many of which were official fixtures. Yet there is a long, complicated process during which he might just be able to switch nationality and it's emerged courtesy of a thread from Twitter user @RMadridEngineer, who has published information from two FIFA documents.
In a nutshell, Benzema needs the French government to take away his passport before then submitting "a written, substantiated request to the FIFA general secretariat" - with Algeria also requiring approval.
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MARCA say Benzema is considering filing a complaint over his situation and the fact Le Graet publicly stated he wouldn't play for his country again could be his route in.
Exiled from Didier Deschamps' squad since 2015 following on from the sex tape scandal he was involved in with teammate Mathieu Valbuena, Benzema scored 30 goals for France.
If he gets his wish, he would join the likes of Diego Costa, Asmir Begovic, Neven Subotic, Thiago Motta, Nacer Chadli, and Alfredo di Stefano in playing for two nations.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Karim Benzema, France
