Real Madrid News
Barcelona first-team star opens up on ‘reluctantly’ joining Real Madrid in his youth career
FC Barcelona star Marcos Alonso has opened up about his footballing past in a recent interview. The defender particularly talked about his previous stint at Real Madrid, suggesting that his heart was always at Barça.
A left-back by trade, Alonso is a native of Madrid who started his youth career in the club’s youth system way back in 1999. Although he was able to make just one competitive appearance for Los Blancos, he was a part of the club’s youth system for 11 long years.
However, Alonso says it was always his desire to join Barcelona. “Throughout my career, I always wanted to sign for Barcelona, it was my team since I was a child,” he said, as quoted by MARCA.
“I trialled Real Madrid reluctantly, my parents laughed at me, but it was the best way for me to develop,” he added.
Alonso left the Real Madrid setup in 2010, joining Bolton Wanderers in a deal worth €2.4 million. Since then, he has had spells at Chelsea, Fiorentina and Sunderland, before eventually joining Barcelona on the transfer deadline this past summer.
“I took a risk because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” Alonso said when asked about his decision to join Barça.
Since joining, Alonso has become a crucial player for Xavi, with the Barcelona coaches reportedly keen on extending his contract. Alonso’s current deal at Camp Nou expires at the end of the season, but the new deal could see him extend his stay at the club at least until 2024.
Alonso, for his part, hopes to put his Real Madrid past behind him and wants to continue at Camp Nou for the years to come.
Real Madrid are blessed to have the services and loyalty of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The duo have run the show in the Merengues’ midfield for close to a decade and continue to deliver flawless performances to date.
Of the two, however, it is the Croatian who deserves the higher credit. The veteran is now 37 years of age, yet dominates the middle of the park with grace and poise like none other.
Stephen Estuaqio, an FC Porto player and Canada International, spoke earlier this week about why he considered Luka Modric to be a special player and compared him with Kevin de Bruyne to support his stance.
“I played against De Bruyne, but I ran behind Modrić. I couldn’t play against him. It’s crazy how he dictates the game and controls everything. It was a lesson for me,” he said on The 90th minute on Youtube.
With his contract running out next season, Real Madrid are looking to renew his deal by one year come June. Yet, it is difficult to see him continue beyond next season and his imminent departure will mark the end of an era at the club.
Thus, Modric could be an altered role come next season. With a young midfielder, possibly Jude Bellingham set to arrive, the veteran could move into a mentorship role with the occasional appearance in big games.
This season, however, Carlo Ancelotti will continue to use him as one of the backbones of the side and deploy the maestro in the must-win fixtures coming up later this month.
At 37 years of age, Modric has started 16 La Liga games over 24 appearances this season in the competition. He has scored four goals and provided three assists in that process in addition to creating eight big chances with an average of 1.8 key passes per game.
