The Phone Call - The Entire, Damning Transcript that puts Karim Benzema within the law’s firing line

[the4thjuliek]

Comments

[lied_ohne_worte]

This is so incredibly bizarre. After reading it, I'm still not sure which side he's on.

All in all though, I read about Benzema's "entourage" supposedly being known as dreadful, and really... don't get me wrong, but it seems that for many players, at least the ones lacking in education / brainpower / life skills / maturity, having "entourages" does not seem to help at all. I don't mean I don't think people are responsibility for their own life choices, but there does seem to be a lot of bad going on around them, whether it's people helping them to get rid of all their money, or otherwise assisting them to get into trouble, like the "friend" who "sorted out" Reus' driving license problem by getting him a fake Dutch one.

There was this article where Mourinho spoke about them helping players with life skills at Chelsea, and it seems there should be more of that happening.

[postingwhore]

Yeah, I find the contrast between players like Benzema/Reus/etc. and Thomas Müller/Basti/Manu so interesting.

[ladyseraph_756]

idk, Basti was pretty messy back in the day, but at least he grew up. Or failing that, he got smarter about keeping his shit on lockdown.

Benzema sounds like he has a very sketchy bunch of friends. This whole situation is so dodgy like some IRL Tarantino movie.

[connorblond]

I think Bastian was reined in by Uli Hoeness. He was in danger of slipping down a very dangerous slope, but Uli made sure it didn't go that way.
Manu and Lahm are way too down to earth for that. So is Müller.

[asth77]

Benzema: He said to me, yes, but you what would you have done? I said to him: me, I don’t give a shit about buzz, you see, so I would have paid just for my family… I said to him: you, if it is about buzz, if it is just about the buzz and you have warned your family, and they don’t care, well then let it be released, I said to him.
Lol ok, It's really confusing. It doesn't confirm much.

Edit ->> Interesting how Europe 1 forgot this part of the convo, also it totally confirms at least what his lawyer said (he said one part was missing that would make things look more favorable to him, and pretty much described the quote).

[riellemayer]

This is weird. It sounds like he's trying to help Valbuena, but at the same time he sounds so sketchy lol. I don't read French so I can't tell if it's just a matter of translation issues. It's like he's just being very frank about the situation? Like, "Look. This is what it is. If it happened to me, this is how I would feel/handle it. This is what I think you should do. I'm your friend, I'm trying to help, talk to this person and pay."

Does anyone else read it that way? I mean.... He still puts himself in the shit pot by being involved regardless.

So while he looks, uhh, "good" for trying to help his friend he's now caught in the crosshairs for trying to send Valbuena to the blackmailer. Welp.

[thinkweism]

i think benzema looks dumb as fuck because he got involved as the intermediary when he could have just not gotten involved? benz's friends sound like pariahs & vultures, which is gross and i probably would have peaced the hell out or contacted the authorities about it - extortion, blackmail, etc. is awful & idgaf if you really don't know the person who is the victim of the scandal... why would you even try to mediate this shit storm?

benzema & his friends ain't shit for this. as funny as it is, at the end of the day, he's trying to help his friends get whatever they want out of his nt teammate at his expense and humiliation. tacky af.

[thinkweism]

on a serious note... how the fuck did this person get the tape? like, has that been covered anywhere or am i just to suspect that the video landed in X person's lap and they thought this would be a good idea to shake someone down for their money.

this entire thing is funny & disgusting at the same time, and the more i think about it - the more disgusting and gross it becomes. yikes @ benz, i don't even know what to do when it comes to dealing with his stupid ass.

[lady_teazle]

I'm confused over the same issue. I thought this Zenati was the blackmailer, but apparently he's another go-between. The Daily Mail mentions "investigators recorded all calls made by three alleged blackmailers", but w/o mentioning who those individuals are.

You'd think by now that footballers would have gotten the message about the hazards of videotaping their sexual adventures!

[thinkweism]

basically, yep. it means that it goes blackmailer(s) --> zenati --> benz --> valbuena.

i still think it's gross that they're extorting valbuena for a sex tape. and i think it's kind of shitty we live in this mindset that we're going to shame people for what they do behind closed doors (unless it's illegal, in which case that's gross & they deserve to be called out). if the sex tape is just valbuena & some other individual, then that's his choice. and anyone trying to shame/judge/take money from him because he doesn't want that privacy violated is gross. idk, i'm not going to judge anyone - even celebrities - for stuff like this happening when it shouldn't.

[yamair]

Yeah, it's so messed up. It makes me wonder about who else this has happened to. This can't be the first time. These blackmailers probably target different kinds of public figures.

[marsyke]

if he wasn't a footballer, he would be in jail. Seriously if those people are your friends, you're doing something wrong.