Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has backed Karim Benzema's claims for a recall to the France squad and said the striker is hurt by his international exile.
Benzema, 29, has not played for his country since October 2015 after being named in the ongoing investigation into alleged extortion of his international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Last month, Benzema demanded Zidane's former France teammate and current Les Blues coach Didier Deschamps give him an explanation for his continued absence, before revealing last week that no contact between the pair had been established.
The Madrid striker has remained a first-team regular under Zidane this season, contributing 17 goals for the club this season, and his coach says he is deserving of an international recall.
"Not because I like him, not because we're close; because he shows he's the best, period," Zidane, who won 108 caps for France, told Canal+. "It hurts him, because he wants to get back into the team.
"He's a player who can play, we know what a player he is, and he wants to get back into the France team. He loves the team. But you also have to accept the decision of a national team coach, a club coach, an entourage... [But] what he does is exceptional, I'm happy to have him with me."