Rihanna dating Karim Benzema?
Singer Rihanna was first linked to French football player Karim Benzema during the 2014 FIFA World Cup REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

It was only a matter of weeks ago that she was linked to Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio but it looks as though Rihanna may have found herself a new love interest.

The FourFiveSeconds singer is now rumoured to be dating Real Madrid footballer Karim Benzema after they were spotted having dinner at New York City Cuban restaurant Coppelia.

A photo, which has emerged from the dinner date, shows Rihanna, 27, sitting across the table from the French sports star while talking to friends who joined them for the evening.

An eyewitness told E! News of the meal: "Rihanna and Karim were [seated] across from each other.

"There were about four people at the table and a few more on another table from the same party. They came separately and they were speaking French at some point."

Earlier in the night before they visited the 24-hour diner, the rumoured new couple are said to have partied at The Griffin nightclub in the Meatpacking District.

This is not the first time the stars have been paired together – romance rumours were sparked during the 2014 FIFA World Cup when the Diamonds hitmaker tweeted her commiserations to Benzema, also 27, when France were knocked out of the tournament.

Benzema replied:

With Benzema now on the scene, it appears that the increasing dating rumours between RiRi and The Wolf Of Wall Street actor DiCaprio have fizzled out.

Speculation that the pair were in a secret relationship had swirled for several months after they were spotted on nights out a number of times, however, the Grammy-winning singer shut down the reports in March.

Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema was comforted by Rihanna when France were knocked out of the 2014 World Cup Getty Images

The pop star told Hello! magazine: "It sounds to me like you should stay away from the blogs because they will screw you every time.

"I'm so busy right now that I just don't have a lot of time to offer to a man so it wouldn't even be fair to be thinking of pulling somebody else into this life.

"But if I did, he would have to be man enough to live with my schedule and not get scared."

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