Karim Benzema Has Responded To Gary Lineker's 'Overrated' Tweet

Karim Benzema has finally broken his silence over a tweet posted by Gary Lineker a couple of weeks ago where the former Barcelona striker branded the Frenchman as 'overrated'.

Lineker's comment came after Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Tottenham at the Bernabeu, where Spurs came away with a point. Benzema failed to get on the scoresheet that night and didn't enjoy the best of games, prompting Lineker's tweet.

The tweet, naturally, prompted plenty of responses:

Benzema's manager, Zinedine Zidane, was quick to issue a reply to Lineker's tweet, defending his striker while revealing his annoyance with the Match Of The Day presenter.

Speaking to Goal, the iconic Frenchman said, "It's not just Karim, he's annoying me with [what he says about] Karim because, for people who know football, it's embarrassing.

"He's the best number nine for Madrid, by a long way. Karim will not score 60 goals, but he will score 20 goals and assists for 30 or 40 more.

"It bothers me when people talk badly about my players. For me, Benzema is the best.

"For me, a striker doesn't only need to score goals. Karim has everything, not only the goals.

"If Karim has been at Real Madrid for almost 10 years it's not an accident. He always recovers from everything, always shows his qualities."

Benzema

Benzema has said he feels 'embarrassed' for Gary Lineker after the former Everton and Spurs striker's comments about him. Image: PA

Now, Benzema has issued his own riposte.

Speaking during an interview with Les Inrockuptibles, via MARCA, "The criticism from ex-footballers who become journalists, some of who only share their hate, I feel sorry for them, frankly.

"They have experienced the same situations but don't have solidarity."

The former Lyon striker has, much like the rest of his teammates, endured a difficult start to the current campaign, scoring only twice in his first 10 games of the season, but his overall record at Real of 182 goals in 375 games isn't exactly something to be sniffed at.

What do you make of Lineker's comments and Benzema's response? Is the Frenchman over or underrated?

(H/T MARCA)

Topics: Gary Lineker, Football News, Football, Karim Benzema, Champions League, Real Madrid, La Liga

Joe Baiamonte

Northerner. Assistant Editor of SPORTbible. Studied Journalism and Broadcasting in a portakabin on a car park of Salford University for three years. Believes football peaked with Serie A in the '90s and strong-arms pro wrestling references into as many articles as possible. Neymar once took 50 euros off me during a game of poker.

@JoeBaia