Real Madrid News
Alvaro Arbeloa targets three Real Madrid stars after taking Fulham job
Former Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has now been appointed as the new manager of Premier League club Fulham.
It looks like the tactician could quickly turn to Los Blancos after taking charge of the Cottagers, with three players on his radar.
Franco Mastantuono, Fran Garcia and Gonzalo Garcia are all said to be on his radar.
Indeed, according to Nizaar Kinsella on BBC Sport, Arbeloa is keen to bring the Real Madrid trio to Fulham after agreeing a three-year contract with the Premier League club.
The potential moves would include one loan deal and two permanent transfers.
Arbeloa looks towards Real Madrid
Fulham want to sign Mastantuono on loan while signing Fran and Gonzalo on permanent transfers for Arbeloa’s new project.
Arbeloa’s interest is understandable given his knowledge of Real Madrid and the players.
A manager arriving at a new club will naturally look towards footballers he understands and trusts, especially when trying to establish his ideas quickly.
The three cases, however, would have to be considered separately by Los Blancos.
Fran Garcia has been heavily linked with a move to Real Betis, with a €4 million deal already progressing and likely to be completed soon.
The arrival of Marc Cucurella and the presence of Alvaro Carreras have all but ended any hopes of game time for Fran at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The other two, on the other hand, Gonzalo and Mastantuono, seem to be in Jose Mourinho’s plans, at least until pre-season is over.
The Portuguese tactician is said to be keen on looking at both players first hand before making a decision on their futures.
Three different decisions for Madrid
Real Madrid will have to consider any potential Fulham move carefully. Loaning out Mastantuono is very different from selling a talented youngster like Gonzalo.
For the Argentine, regular Premier League minutes could potentially offer valuable experience if the club believe his immediate opportunities will be limited.
Any departure for the other two, though, would have to make sense financially and in terms of squad depth.
There could still be value in having a trusted former Real Madrid figure interested in players whose futures need resolving.
It remains to be seen whether Arbeloa’s interest turns into potential offers for the players from the Premier League club, and how Real Madrid go about handling their futures.
Real Madrid News
Kylian Mbappe fires back at critics over his Real Madrid role: ‘A player who scores goals will never be the problem’
Kylian Mbappe has started the new season for Real Madrid in great form, scoring five goals in five games so far.
The Frenchman has continued from where he left off last season, with seemingly no drop in his scoring rate, and he could have had one more had he not missed his penalty against Real Betis.
The 27-year-old superstar has pushed back against criticism of his contribution to Real Madrid, insisting that his goalscoring should not be treated as a problem.
Mbappe’s logic is that the fundamental objective of football is to outscore the opposition and that, therefore, goalscoring should never be seen as an issue.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Mbappe addressed the issue in an interview with L’Equipe, where he spoke openly about criticism of his defensive work and the constant scrutiny associated with him.
Mbappe responds to criticism
The Madrid forward believes people have become so accustomed to his attacking production that attention naturally shifts towards what he does not provide.
“Is it normal that people forget my goals and focus on the defensive work? No, but that is the life of someone who has been close to excellence for 10 years. I am not new to this. Everyone knows what I can do,” Mbappe said.
“It is human to look at what someone does not do. When someone has been doing something for 10 years, we stop looking at it because we know he can do it, so we look at what he is not doing. I do not take it personally.”
Mbappe’s standards are so high that scoring regularly can almost be taken for granted. However, one has to remember how remarkable that consistency is.
‘A player who scores goals will never be a problem’
Mbappe was even firmer when discussing suggestions that his goals may not necessarily translate into collective success.
“It makes no sense. If I do not score goals, they are going to ask me why I am not scoring,” he said.
“As a footballer, I have learned that there are millions of coaches in every match you play, and not all of those coaches are happy. Everyone has an opinion, but in football the objective is to score more goals than the opponent.”
Then came his clearest message.
“A player who scores goals will never be the problem of a team, because no team has ever won titles without scoring goals.”
Madrid need balance, not less of Mbappe
Mbappe’s argument is difficult to dismiss.
Even if they say “attack wins you games, defence wins you tournaments”, you cannot win games unless you score goals, and you cannot win tournaments unless you win games.
Madrid can demand more collective work from every player, especially under Jose Mourinho, without pretending elite goalscoring is somehow secondary.
The real challenge is finding the right balance.
Madrid need Mbappe to remain devastating in front of goal while fitting into the team’s pressing and defensive structure. Those demands are not one or the other.
If anything, Mourinho’s task is to build a system that protects Mbappe’s greatest strength while still making Madrid harder to play against.
Mbappe’s goals are not, and never will be, the problem. The onus is on the manager to bring those strengths out in a system that also preserves the defensive structure.
