Olivier Giroud jokes that he will have a go-kart race with Karim Benzema if France win Euro 2020 as he pokes fun at their ‘rivalry’
Olivier Giroud has joked that he will have a go-kart race with Karim Benzema if France win Euro 2020.
Benzema has returned to the France squad after an absence of over five years.
Giroud told Le Figaro: ‘If we win the Euros, we will celebrate with a go-kart race.’
The Real Madrid striker previously stated that he is an ‘F1’ car whereas Giroud is a ‘go-kart.’
Olivier Giroud has joked that he will have a go-kart race with Karim Benzema if France win Euro 2020
Asked to compare himself to Giroud, Benzema said: ‘This won’t take long.
‘You don’t confuse F1 with go-karting. And I’m being kind, I know I’m F1.
‘It works because he’s there, that’s all, it’s not going to be spectacular.
‘It’s not going to be anything crazy, but in his way you see more of Griezmann or Mbappe because he will put the work in.
‘Does everyone like that way of playing? I don’t know.’
Benzema previously stated that he is like a Formula 1 car whereas Giroud is like a ‘go-kart’
Giroud, however, has dismissed suggestions of a feud between the pair and made light of the situation.
The two attackers will sit next to each other during team meals at France’s Clairefontaine training base.
Following Benzema’s comments, Giroud responded in October last year by saying: ‘At the time, when I was unfairly criticised because of Karim’s absence, it hurt me.
‘I continued to prove that I deserved my place and that this supposed rivalry with Karim was created from scratch by some people.
France boss Didier Deschamps will hope Benzema’s return will help France to win Euro 2020
‘I had nothing to do with it, we just play the same position. It happened but I reacted well to these difficulties.’
Benzema had refused to back down, saying: ‘About Giroud, I simply told the truth.
‘But we didn’t remember what I said about him, especially about what he brings to the French national team.
‘We just remembered the moment when I said I was F1 and he was karting. That’s what I think, that’s the truth, and that’s how it is.’
France boss Didier Deschamps will hope that Benzema’s return will give France an extra boost as they look to build upon their 2018 World Cup success.
Benzema had previously been left out of the France squad after an incident in 2015 when the striker told Mathieu Valbuena, who was then also part of the national team setup, that friends of his had a private sex tape of Valbuena in their possession and that he should speak to the gang in order for it to be destroyed.
