Real Madrid News
Former Real Madrid Castilla star’s Premier League move collapses, ruins club’s €8.5 million windfall
Real Madrid’s summer has been special so far in terms of academy player sales, and the club has accumulated serious profits not only from direct sales but also in terms of indirect windfalls.
As of earlier this week, Los Blancos were even set to receive yet another such unexpected gift – this time from former academy star Javi Rueda who plays at Celta Vigo.
The youngster, who has dished out good performances in La Liga, was said to have attracted interest from Nottingham Forest and Real Madrid took special interest in the development as they hold 50% of his rights.
Deal off the table
Now, in what comes as a colossal and unexpected blow for Los Blancos, Rueda’s transfer to the Premier League-based side has collapsed as reported by Abraham P Romero.
Talks were in the final stages and an agreement was close to being reached. At the last moment, however, the negotiations were called off and the transfer now appears complicated.
Given that Rueda’s release clause stands at €40 million, there was an initial expectation that Real Madrid would receive €20 million from the transfer.
As confirmed by the Spanish journalist, however, Real Madrid were set to reap close to €8.5 million from the fee negotiated which they will now no longer land. The deal, after all, was close to being completed for a fee of €17 million in the end.
Manager’s words weigh heavily
The reason for the collapse of the transfer is surprisingly not from Nottingham Forest’s end but from Celta Vigo’s end. Claudio Giraldez, Celta’s manager, spoke on Rueda earlier this week and his words are said to have transformed the situation.
“I don’t have the final decision about things, but if that decision were to be made, obviously it’s a decision that I don’t agree with. In the figures that are more or less talked about, it seems to me a bad sale. That’s why I trust it won’t happen,” he said via El Desmarque.
“He is an important player for us. We want him here, I trust he will be here, that we will not sell him. That’s why he enters the call and one more for tomorrow’s game. I hope the market ends with him here,” he added, when asked about Rueda’s future.
Needless to say, the manager’s words reached the administration who seem to have pulled the plug on the sale now.
Real Madrid News
Jose Mourinho’s big selection dilemma ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad revealed
Jose Mourinho’s first official starting lineup back at Real Madrid had some surprises at the weekend, especially in midfield.
Aurelien Tchouameni was absent on the night, prompting Mourinho to deploy an interesting midfield pivot with Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva.
Jude Bellingham naturally started as the attacking midfielder, and the manager opted to deploy Arda Guler as well in place of a right-winger.
Ultimately, the extra-man in midfield paid off and helped Real Madrid create chances against Espanyol, many of which came from the feet of Guler himself.
A dilemma for tonight
As confirmed by AS in a recent update, the Real Madrid manager is now in a dilemma ahead of the team’s match day 1 clash scheduled for later today.
Facing off against Real Sociedad, he is conflicted on whether to retain the extra man in midfield or drop the advantage for a natural right-winger. Guler or Diomande – that is the question.
The two players are competing for a starting spot tonight, both for a place on the right-wing on paper. While Diomande will stick wide as a traditional winger, however, the Turkish star will drop more centrally into a creative role.
Both players will undoubtedly have minutes, but it remains to be seen who starts and who comes on as a substitute.
Price tag matters
Under usual circumstances, it would be a no-brainer for Guler to continue starting after the performance he dropped in the previous game.
The issue, however, is that he is not competing for a spot with any other player but the club’s record signing.
Yan Diomande became Real Madrid’s costliest arrival when he signed for the club earlier this summer, and with that price tag comes a natural requirement to start.
His cameo off the bench at the weekend, however, was anything but promising and it will thus be interesting to see how Mourinho tackles the situation.
Will the manager go for the bigger name and more lavish signing under pressure to field him? Or will he hand minutes to a seasoned player who dropped a superior performance just days ago? A big decision awaits.
