Karim Benzema’s former agent, Karim Djaziri, believes the player’s statement about France and Algeria was misinterpreted. The Al-Ittihad striker, 97 caps for Les Bleus, remains at the heart of a debate that refuses to die among the Fennecs.
18 October 2026, on RMC: Karim Djaziri, Karim Benzema’s former agent, looks back at a sentence now twenty years old. It was in December 2006, on the same station, that the striker had declared: “Algeria is my parents’ country, it’s in the heart. But then, sportingly, it’s true that I’ll play for the France team” (source: Afrik-Foot).
For Karim Djaziri, the way it was read does not match the player’s intentions. He claims his former client’s words were misinterpreted and taken out of context by public opinion, according to Afrik-Foot, which relays the interview given to RMC.
“That’s not what he meant”
The former representative’s clarification comes down to one phrase, quoted by Afrik-Foot: “That’s not what he meant.” According to him, Benzema never saw Algeria as a mere fallback choice, nor as an option devoid of sporting ambition. It is a clarification aimed at the dominant interpretation of the 2006 sentence, not at a statement from the man himself.
Karim Djaziri also stresses the striker’s visceral and sincere attachment to his Algerian roots, a bond he describes as constant throughout his career. His comments, according to Afrik-Foot, shed new light on the behind-the-scenes of a decision taken in 2006, when Benzema was breaking through at Olympique Lyonnais.
This is therefore Karim Djaziri’s interpretation, not a statement from Karim Benzema: the story contains no new comments from the striker on the matter. The nuance matters, twenty years after a remark that remains a sore point for some supporters.
A debate still fierce among the Fennecs
The clarification comes as the debate over French-Algerian dual nationals remains a recurring theme around the Algeria national team, according to Afrik-Foot.
Karim Djaziri’s clarification is aimed precisely at ending two decades of resentment among some Fennecs supporters. For that public, the December 2006 sentence remains a reference point whose significance the former agent now disputes.
The striker’s international record, meanwhile, is established: 97 caps and 37 goals in the France shirt between 2007 and 2022, according to Afrik-Foot. Those figures recall the scale of the career he built with Les Bleus.
At 38, the Al-Ittihad striker
Now aged 38, Karim Benzema plays for Al-Ittihad, in the Saudi Pro League, again according to Afrik-Foot. He will line up with his club on the next Saudi Pro League matchday, in October 2026.
The story contains no reaction from Karim Benzema to these comments.