<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="document jq_ColDocument jq_ShareArea"> <div class="tooltipContent"> <div class="scrollContent jq_Content jq_langdir tinyscrollbar doctooltip-y fontsize_0"> <div class="viewport"> <div class="overview"> <h3 style="text-align: justify">Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema admitted to investigators he was supposed to act as an intermediary between a friend and his French international teammate Mathieu Valbuena in a sex tape blackmail case, sources told AFP on Friday.</h3> <p style="text-align: justify"></p> <p style="text-align: justify">Benzema also told police he felt "stupid" when confronted with the evidence, said one source close to a case that has cast a shadow over the national team as France prepares to host Euro 2016 next year.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">The centre-forward has been charged over the case in which Valbuena went to the police after being approached for money by men claiming to be in possession of a sex tape featuring the Lyon midfielder.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Benzema had initially denied any involvement following his arrest on November 5, but in a third session of questioning he began to open up.</p> . <p style="text-align: justify">He eventually admitted he was only trying to help Karim Zenati, a childhood friend from Lyon where the player grew up, who already had a criminal record.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"I feel embarrassed towards my friend Karim Zenati because when he came out of prison and even when he was inside, I looked after him. We're very close," Benzema said, according to the sources.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">He added: "I was supposed to act as the go-between and develop a relationship between Mathieu (Valbuena) and Karim Zenati."</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Police then produced the recording of a conversation between Benzema and Zenati, in which the footballer related -- using a mocking tone -- his conversation with Valbuena at the French national training base in Clairefontaine on October 5.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">After hearing the tape, Benzema admitted: "I did have a conversation with Zenati, about how to bring up the subject with Mathieu Valbuena.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"It was not my aim that Karim Zenati benefited from this, I didn't think about that. I'm shocked. Honestly, I look stupid when I see all that," he said.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">But he was not prepared to abandon his friend.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"Zenati is a serious person and someone I have confidence in," Benzema told police, the sources said.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Benzema's lawyer Alain Jakubowicz told AFP the conversation with police showed that his client "had no malicious intent".</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Neither Benzema nor Valbuena were selected for the squad for France's friendly against Germany on Friday, nor for the game against England on Tuesday.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has pledged his "full support" for Benzema.</p> <p style="text-align: justify"><strong>By AFP</strong></p> </div> </div> </div> </div></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>