Benzema rejects potential opportunity for reconciliation with Valbuena

Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena aren't any closer to burying the hatchet today than they were in the immediate aftermath of a blackmail scandal that resulted in the Real Madrid forward getting arrested.

The French internationals have yet to resolve their differences two-and-a-half years after Benzema was taken into custody in 2015 for his alleged role in a blackmail plot that targeted Valbuena and stemmed from an apparent sex tape featuring the Fenerbahce midfielder.

On Monday, there appeared to be an opportunity for a peaceful resolution when Valbuena, in an interview with Le Parisien, said he would shake Benzema's hand if the two ever cross paths in the future.

However, Benzema, who's been exiled from the French national team by manager Didier Deschamps and the French Football Federation despite maintaining his innocence, isn't as willing to forget about the past.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Benzema, as translated by Sports Ilustrated, responded on Instagram: "Keep your hand".

Before winning an important legal battle last summer to separate himself from the case, Benzema suggested the story was fabricated after learning that Valbuena was apparently prepared to play alongside him again.

In an interview with L'Equipe, as translated by Get French Football News, Benzema said, "Everything came from his story. We do not know the truth. On top of that, when I hear it said now that he is prepared to play with me again, that he is not annoyed at me …

"There is really something wrong with him. At the beginning, I was a thug, I threatened him, I scared him, he invented it all. And now he says he wants to play with me again."