Karim Benzema has magic in his feet, but not only.. The French Ballon d'Or published on Instagram on Monday the rather incredible photo of his right foot after Real Madrid's match against Rayo Vallecano on May 24, his feet bloodied with suction cups placed on it.
His former agent and friend Karim Djaziri explained on Twitter that one of his opponents had "stepped on his foot" after about ten minutes of play. An injury that earned him 5 stitches at the end of the match. However, the Madrid striker showed his class in this match counting for the 36th day of the Spanish championship scoring a goal in the 31st minute. His celebration, with his face grimacing, still showed his pain.
Yesterday @Benzema after 10 minutes an opponent steps on his foot, but as usual he says nothing plays all the match suffering even manages to score! In the end the doc gave him 5 stitches in the locker room đ . #UnHerosDiscret pic.twitter.com/BzF8eT1Lwu
â Karim Djaziri (@KDjaziri) May 25, 2023
"See you next time... " joked the number 9 of Real Madrid on Instagram. If the image is impressive, this is not the first time that KB9 has been "sucked". He did not hesitate to do it again, still on Instagram, this Monday, the suction cups this time on the back. This is called "cupping", a technique that is supposed to thin blood circulation.
A technique not recognized by the WHO
He is not at all the only athlete to indulge in this practice to reduce muscle fatigue and areas of tension and pain in the short term. It was the multi-medalist Olympic Michael Phelps, swimming legend, who had revived in high-level sport, this ancestral practice from traditional Chinese medicine, which gives marks on the epidermis for nearly a fortnight.
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A post shared by Karim Benzema (@karimbenzema)
How effective is cupping? It is difficult to draw conclusions. This solution is not listed by the WHO among those capable of curing, unlike acupuncture. Christophe Keller, physical trainer in charge of the French volleyball players Olympic champions in 2021, explained to us, last October, that he did not have a clear opinion on this "fashion": "I had tested it fifteen years ago but without much effect. It is complicated to judge as long as there is no work attesting to a real medical added value. »
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Be careful though, even if the photos suggest that the cupping draws blood from the French attacker, the "cupping" by cupping, like that practiced by Benzema, is different from the traditional "hijama" (rather from Islam unlike cupping). The latter, banned in France, involves slight incisions in the back to then extract the blood.