Real Madrid News
€120 million Real Madrid target has not reached agreement with any other club – report
Argentina’s triumph at the FIFA World Cup will go down in the history books as Lionel Messi’s crowning moment. However, the success is equally befitting to all the players on Lionel Scaloni’s roster, every one of whom had a stellar showing.
Enzo Fernandez is one such young star who shone the brightest in the Albiceleste’s campaign in Qatar. The midfielder started the event as a bench player for Scaloni but earned a starting spot in the knockouts courtesy of his high quality.
In seven World Cup appearances for Argentina, the youngster scored one goal and provided one assist. Further, he averaged a key pass, a shot, and close to nine defensive actions per game.
Eventually, he would walk up onto the podium to collect the FIFA Best Young Player of the tournament award just weeks later.
The 21-year-old’s consistent displays on the biggest stage have left several too European clubs dreaming of his signing. Real Madrid have shown an interest in Enzo Fernandez, as have Liverpool, with reports suggesting that the latter had a pre-agreement to sign him.
However, according to reports from Pedro Sepulveda, Enzo Fernandez has not reached an agreement with any club so far, leaving the race wide open. Furthermore, there have been no official negotiations so far with his party.
Real Madrid are also in the running for Fernandez’s signing, alongside the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. However, Benfica refuse to negotiate a transfer fee for their star and demand his release clause of €120 million to part ways with him in January.
Los Blancos do not intend to make any purchases in the winter window but will go after his signing if he is still available come June. Given that Jude Bellingham’s transfer now looks increasingly unclear, Fernandez would be the ideal candidate in the long term for the midfield.
There have been reports that Real Madrid could look to trigger the 21-year-old’s release clause in January itself but sign him in the summer. Whether they decide to take that course of action or bide their time and keep pushing for Bellingham remains to be seen.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid locker room angry with Barcelona midfielder’s ‘unsportsmanlike’ behaviour – report
While the evident frustration among the Real Madrid players was quite visible following the recent 1-2 defeat against Barcelona, the feeling of vexation was not really limited on the field.
Journalist Mario Cortegana, while writing for The Athletic, has confirmed that once the players got into the dressing room, the environment had an air of anger and frustration.
Players from each team had a go at each other right till the end, especially the likes of Dani Carvajal and Arnau Tenas, who had to be separated by several members from both teams.
Interestingly, before the aforementioned incident, Barcelona midfielder Gavi was already causing some trouble on the field. The youngster did not shy away from putting his body on the line throughout the game and it annoyed Madrid players to the extreme.
First, he pushed Carvajal in one incident and after that, he entangled himself in an off-the-ball clash with Dani Ceballos. The Madrid midfielder first had a collision with Robert Lewandowski and as the game moved on, Gavi made note of the incident.
During the run of play, Gavi pushed Ceballos with his shoulder and it did not settle well with the Madrid players and manager Carlo Ancelotti. The players and the manager were disturbed by Gavi’s behaviour and considered it ‘unsportsmanlike’.
On the other hand, there was frustration involving refereeing decisions as well. It must be remembered that in the 82nd minute, Marco Asensio found the back of the net to send the Madrid fans into a frenzy.
The celebration, however, was cut short as VAR disallowed the goal for an extremely tight offside. “We are sad, frustrated,” a dressing room source told The Athletic. “What happened? A guy looking at a TV in Madrid has decided La Liga.”
Ancelotti, on his part, said: “The disallowed goal? I don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m leaving with this doubt. If the VAR is sure.”
“I leave this match very proud. I don’t think we deserved to lose today,” he added.
