5 players whose careers have been plagued by off-field controversy 

#1 Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema played a part in blackmailing his team-mate

Karim Benzema has made a name for himself as one of the world's best strikers, and he has been immensely successful with Real Madrid in recent years. However, his international career has been derailed by scandal and controversy in recent years and the striker has not played for the France national team since 2015.

Benzema was arrested on 4 November 2015 on the charges of playing a role in blackmailing his French compatriot Mathieu Valbuena. Benzema reportedly convinced Valbuena to pay a group of people that were threatening to leak a sex tape of the Lyon midfielder.

The French striker was also involved in the aforementioned incident concerning Franck Ribery and was one of three players to sleep with the underage prostitute Zahia Dehar.