The court had ordered Benzema to pay a fine, damages and legal costs of compensation to Valbuena, in addition to giving him a one-year suspended prison sentence.
The Versailles court said at the time that “Benzema was personally involved in tricks and lies to persuade his colleague to submit to blackmail,” adding that the veteran player showed “no goodwill towards Valbuena”.
The Real Madrid striker’s lawyers have appealed the decision issued in the year that saw a wonderful return to the French national team after being excluded from the world champions since 2015 due to this case.
Benzema scored nine goals since he was called up to participate in the European Cup last summer, when the “roosters” were surprisingly knocked out against Switzerland in the final price before they won the European Nations League title.
Valbuena’s lawyers turned to the bailiffs to recover the money from Benzema for not making a voluntary payment.
A source close to the case said the player’s account had been partially frozen since Friday. Benzema’s lawyers want to keep the money in his account until his appeal is considered.
“This is the logical consequence of the prompt payment decision,” Valbuena’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Ewens, told AFP. We asked for an amicable agreement on payment, which was never reached.
Benzema was accused of encouraging Valbuena to pay a sum of money to the blackmailers who threatened to reveal an intimate video of the latter, and he admitted his interference in the matter at the request of one of the blackmailers.
Benzema has always denied the allegations, saying he tried to help Valbuena out of the situation, not to entrap him.
