Karim Benzema, Real Madrid star, convicted of complicity in attempted blackmail in case of sex video

(CNN Spanish) – Karim Benzema, a star of Real Madrid and the French soccer team, was found guilty by a court of complicity in an attempt to blackmail fellow French footballer Mathieu Valbuena with a sex video, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

The case is related to the existence of a sex video in which Valbuena appears. Benzema is accused of pressuring Valbuena, who played alongside the Real Madrid star on the French national team, to pay blackmailers to prevent the video from being made public.

Four other men, who were not named, were implicated in the case for attempted blackmail, the Versailles Court prosecutor previously told CNN. One also faces an additional charge for breach of trust.

When the investigation began, Benzema, who was suspended by the French team as a result and later returned, he denied the allegations.

With information from George Ramsay and Pierre Bairin