Karim Benzema has been arrested as part of an inquiry into an alleged plot to blackmail Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.

L’Equipe said investigators wanted to establish whether a conversation between Benzema and the player during a meeting of the French national team at the beginning of October was simply friendly advice or part of the plot.

Three suspects said to be in the “entourage” of several footballers have been officially mis en examen – the French equivalent of being charged – since October.

Djibril Cissé was interviewed and released as part of the same investigation.

Before Benzema was arrested, his lawyer Sylvain Cormier told the Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that his client would respond to any summons. He added that Benzema was targeted by blackmailers in 2011.