L'Equipe: 'Very improbable' Karim Benzema will play at Euro 2016

Benzema’s career is in turmoil after he was charged with conspiracy to blackmail and participating in a criminal group around an alleged sex tape involving France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

The striker, who is France’s first-choice centre-forward ahead of Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, was revealed as being involved in discussions around the alleged blackmail when transcripts of a conversation with a childhood friend were published in the French press.

Valbuena said in an interview with Le Monde this week that he felt “very, very disappointed” about Benzema’s conduct. Lawyers for the Madrid star say he is “totally innocent”.

"At a certain point, you can't defend the indefensible," Valbuena told Le Monde. "Even with my worst enemy, I wouldn't do that."

"I can only be very, very, very disappointed and to observe that the relationship with Karim is not as sincere as he could have perhaps claimed.”

In an opinion piece, L’Equipe says on Saturday that the legal case is likely to be long and that there is a moral obligation not to pick Benzema for the finals, which will be played in France.

Valbuena’s place is also in doubt, according to the organ.

“The latest revelations of Mathieu Valbuena and judicial timetable make the return of Karim Benzema to the France team very improbable,” wrote L'Equipe on their front page. “But the international future of the playmaker is also in doubt.”