Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has been arrested by French police on Wednesday morning, according to reports.
The French striker has been accused of blackmail related to a sex-tape featuring fellow French player Mathieu Valbuena.
According to the Telegraph, the Madrid striker has arrived at the police station in Versailles around 9 am in the morning, near Paris, and was placed in detention.
The Versailles prosecutor has placed Benzema under formal criminal investigation where he is being questioned over his role in this affair.
Benzema has reportedly mentioned the sex-tape to Valbuena during a meeting on the French team in early October.
“It is thought one of Benzema’s relatives was contacted by the suspected blackmailers with a view to involving the footballer in their scheme, the source said.
Police are seeking to determine whether he was teasing Valbuena when he mentioned the tape, or trying to make him pay the blackmailers.”
Benzema’s role in the Valbuena sextape blackmail story is not clear yet. But some sources say that he put pressure on Valbuena to pay.
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) November 4, 2015
The Mirror reports that Valbuena, the 31-year-old lyon midfielder, was asked for money in return for the tape not being published.
Benzema becomes the second French player to be questioned, after former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse was arrested and later released last month.
“I have nothing to do with it, Mathieu is a friend of mine,” Cisse told said during an interview on French chat show Touche pas a mon poste.
“I just warned him that there was something hot going on involving him. That’s it. End of story.
“Frankly, it’s not funny. It’s something that could have been very bad for me and for him.”
Benzema, who is currently out injured for Real Madrid, could be included in the latest France squad. Valbuena could be included as well.
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