Real Madrid News
Carvajal praises Real Madrid teammate ahead of Osasuna clash: “One of the best in the world”
Real Madrid will be looking to end their Copa del Rey drought when they take on CA Osasuna at Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville on Saturday night.
The Merengues have not won the King’s Cup since 2014, during Carlo Ancelotti’s first stint as the manager of the club. And they will now be gunning to win the elusive trophy again in the face of their flailing La Liga campaign.
Ahead of the game, senior defender Dani Carvajal interacted with the media and touched on several topics, including the Copa del Rey drought as well as the controversies surrounding Vinicius Jr being targeted by opposition players.
Kicking things off, Carvajal said: “First of all, I would like to offer my condolences to the family of Arsenio Iglesias.”
Then talking about the Copa final, the defender added: “I won my first title which was the Copa del Rey, 9 years ago. We are very excited. We know it will be a difficult game. I’m plugged in, in the locker room there are many players accustomed to playing these kind of games.”
Talking about the season objectives of the team at the start of the season and now, Carvajal said: “At the beginning of the season we set ourselves the goal of winning everything. The Cup was missing, the clubs are facing it with great enthusiasm. We always fight for everything and this year we have achieved the goal of reaching the final.”
The right-back also insisted that Real Madrid were not the favourites for the game, claiming that Osasuna can be a complicated opponent.
“We don’t consider ourselves favorites. Osasuna has made merits to get here, we saw that they managed to endure against Barcelona with one player less. They are a complicated rival.”
The Real Madrid veteran also spoke about Vinicius Jr, saying: “When he arrived we already saw that he was going to be a star. He was meme fodder and when he received all that criticism, he got over it. Now he’s one of the best in the world and everything he has, he’s earned it.”
On the refereeing and his arguments with match officials, Carvajal said: “Perhaps I complain to the referees a lot, it’s something that should be corrected. The other day my red card cost us the game. We always try to talk to them.”
“As Courtois said, the referees try to do their best, act without premeditation and perhaps they should favour the fast game and prevent the teams from destroying the game. It should be a point to be corrected for next season.”
On the differences between the Champions League and the Copa final, he said: “I notice differences between the Cup and Champions League finals. There is a special atmosphere because some players don’t have this title. Our way of working doesn’t change, you always have emotions before such a game.”
Talking about the decisive stretch of the campaign, he added: “We have two weeks in which our season will be practically decided because the league has been very complicated for us. Tomorrow we want to get a new title, which will mean we have won all the titles in two years. Our focus is only on Osasuna.”
Source: Real Madrid Twitter
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid plan to hold talks with Chelsea over €60 million-rated German international
Kai Havertz has emerged as the latest target for Real Madrid as they look to beef up the attacking unit ahead of the new season.
The club are bracing themselves for the loss of Marco Asensio, who is reportedly closing in on a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Even Dani Ceballos is facing an uncertain future at Santiago Bernabeu, though the club are making a last-gasp effort to keep hold of the midfielder.
In order to mitigate the losses, Real Madrid are planning to bring in a new attacker, with Havertz emerging as a potential candidate.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid’s plan is to hold talks with Chelsea in the next few weeks, over the possibility of Havertz’s move to the Bernabeu.
The Premier League giants seek good money for the German international, but do not consider him ‘untouchable’. The player, after all, has endured a difficult season, where his productivity has been questioned.
The former Bayer Leverkusen starlet has netted seven goals in the Premier League this past season, but the number could have easily breached the 15 mark if the forward had successfully converted most of his chances.
Chelsea, therefore, are ready to offload the German ahead of the new season. The Blues had signed the young playmaker in the summer of 2020, for an astounding €80 million. But the move has not paid off at all, with the player scoring just 32 goals in 139 appearances.
Chelsea are now keen on recouping some of that investment by asking big money for Havertz this summer. Real Madrid, for their part, are not exactly clear how much they should spend on the German, but they appear ready to take the gamble on the player.
