Jamie Carragher BACKS Karim Benzema’s dressing-down of Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius

 

Jamie Carragher has come to the defence of Karim Benzema after the Real Madrid striker was caught on camera urging Ferland Mendy to stop passing to fellow team-mate Vinicius.

The bizarre scenes were captured at the half-time interval during Madrid’s recent Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.

Madrid had entered the break trailing 1-0 and a furious Benzema was unaware of a camera in the player’s tunnel which captured him instructing Mendy by saying: ‘Don’t play with him. On my mother’s life, he [Vinicius] is playing against us.’

Cameras in the tunnel at Borussia-Park picked up a conversation in French between Benzema (bottom right) and Ferland Mendy, who were reportedly talking about Vinicius (top left)

Jamie Carragher defended Benzema and suggested many pros have said something similar 

The incident became big news across the football world, with many pundits and former professionals weighing in with their opinion regarding whether Benzema was right to be so brutally critical of a team-mate.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher however insists conversations like the one Benzema had with full-back Mendy are all too common in football, admitting he had said similar things about team-mates before.

Speaking on CBS Sports, Carragher said: ‘As a club Real Madrid, it is not one of those things where if it lands on the manager’s doorstep that’s like ‘oh you don’t need that type of thing.

The Brazilian (top centre) was stood within earshot of the duo during the half-time break

Benzema went on to score in the 87th minute of the match as Madrid battled for a late draw

‘But in terms of Benzema did, that is something I have said before, and if I have said it about someone else I can guarantee someone has said it about me. He has just been caught saying it. 

‘Now there’s two sides to it. I think there is one where you think you are helping the team, which I think is the case with..

‘If someone is having a really poor game, you are almost having a go at the guy who is maybe behind him, maybe it’s a full back and there’s a winger in front and you’re saying ‘use your brain, he’s not having the best of games, look for someone else’.

Carragher went on to elaborate, saying that sometimes players struggling for form would actually prefer to see less of the ball in their direction, though did also go on to question Benzema’s possible motives. 

‘Ok, if it’s there and it’s obvious, give him the ball but if he’s not play somewhere else, give him a touch, help him,’ Carragher added.

‘He probably doesn’t want the ball, he was having a really poor game. 

Carragher admitted he said similar during his own career, and that Benzema simply got caught

‘There’s a flip side to it, with Benzema and Vinicius being attacking players. If Benzema was doing that from a selfish point of view, in terms of “don’t pass to him just pass to me, I want to score”, something like that wouldn’t be right if that was happening within a team or squad.

‘But in terms of someone having a poor game, that is something I have said numerous times, maybe at half-time, maybe at a training session. You say to your goalkeeper when he is throwing the ball out ‘go to the other side, he is struggling and having a tough time, go to the right-back or left-back.

‘It is not something that doesn’t happen he has just been caught. ‘

On the night Benzema ended up being something of a hero for Madrid, scoring in the 87th minute for his side before Casemiro grabbed a stoppage time equaliser to salvage a point at 2-2.