Karim Benzema isn’t backing down from his comments on Olivier Giroud

What’s the best move for a player after taking an unnecessary pop at a fellow colleague?

Obviously, it’s to do it again and put special emphasis on the original comments that made you look like a grouchy, spiteful man-child. As the Daily Mail are reporting, Karim Benzema has been at it again.

For those who didn’t see the initial quotes: Benzema must have been so bored during his stay in quarantine that he thought it would be a good idea to compare himself to a Formula 1 car and former French striking partner Giroud to a go-kart. To make sure everyone got the message, he reiterated the “veracity” he sees in his comments in a live conversation on Instagram.

“I told the truth, it is that simple. What was not reported was what I said about what he brings to the France team. What was picked up was that I said I was Formula 1 and he was karting. That is what I think, that is the truth. If you ask me in comparison to Ronaldo (Nazario): he is Formula 1 and I am karting, that is the truth!”

-Karim Benzema; source: Daily Mail

While Benzema is correct in that few, if any could compare to the REAL Ronaldo, he wasn’t smart enough to ignore or defuse the situation, or what would have been even better, offer a token apology for an unnecessary insult aimed at a colleague — and emphasize that he did acknowledge some qualities that Giroud brings to the team (i.e. making those around him better).

Then again, are these kinds of comments such a surprise from Benzema considering his controversial career, and apparent inability to ever come to terms with his expulsion from the national team? Mathieu Valbuena would certainly have an opinion on this one.

Regardless, Giroud has been a far more important cog in Didier Deschamps’ Les Blues machine than Benzema ever was and has a World Cup winner’s medal to prove it.

Haters gonna hate, I guess.