Look: Benzema shunned by France national team on Twitter
Karim Benzema's fractious relationship with the France national team has been a well-documented tale of one player's desire to return to international football.
Related: Benzema wants explanation for France omission
That soap opera now has a latest episode, as Les Bleus tweeted congratulations to Real Madrid centre-back and 35-time capped international Raphael Varane for making the Champions League final - but curiously omitted Benzema's name.
.@raphaelvarane et le Real Madrid ont éliminé l'Atlético et joueront à nouveau une Finale de la Ligue des Champions! 👏👏 #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/u2aPk3KHKJ
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) May 11, 2017
One enterprising Twitter user noted Benzema's absence, to which France's account responded, "we only talk about the players who have been called up by the French national team in the last year."
@Ludof45 Bonjour! Nous parlons uniquement de l'actu sportive des joueurs qui ont été sélectionnés en @equipedefrance lors de la dernière année.
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) May 11, 2017
Not content with that reasoning, the user noted that Lyon's Nabil Fekir and Alexandre Lacazette were congratulated for guiding Les Gones to the Europa League semi-final in March.
Nabil Fekir et Alexandre Lacazette permettent à l'@OL de s'imposer 4-2 face à la Roma en @EuropaLeague ! ⚽️⚽️ #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/OcImWhNrQZ
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) March 9, 2017
For context, Lacazette's last France cap came three days after Benzema last sported the coq gaulois blue strip for Didier Deschamps' lot in 2015.
In this instance, the now-famous adage, "How is Twitter free?" bares repeating.