Real Madrid News
Guardiola confirms massive injury boost for Manchester City ahead of Real Madrid clash
Real Madrid are set to take on Manchester City next week as they look to secure a place in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
The Spanish giants have performed brilliantly in the UCL so far, sweeping aside Chelsea and Liverpool in the knockout rounds. But their biggest challenge yet awaits them in the semifinal as they take on the champions of England.
Real Madrid were heading into the game with the hope of Kevin De Bruyne being ruled out of the first leg due to an injury.
However, as reported by Goal, it appears De Bruyne is back in training ahead of the Leeds United match and could be in contention to feature against Real Madrid in the UCL semifinal.
The Belgian international, who has recorded a whopping 27 assists in all competitions this season, has been a creative force for Manchester City. His combination play with Erling Haaland has helped the Cityzens once again dominate English football.
De Bruyne, though, had missed the last couple of matches due to discomfort, which led many to believe he might miss the game against Real Madrid.
But ahead of the game against Leeds United, Pep Guardiola has confirmed the Belgian is back in training and will play ‘if he is fit’.
“He trained good yesterday. Today we are going to train and decide after training. Losing just one week or 10 days is not a problem, it’s the same thing that happened with Nathan [Ake]. If he’s fit, he will play,” Guardiola said.
Considering how important a win could mean for Manchester City in the context of the Premier League title race, it will not come as a surprise to see De Bruyne feature against Leeds. But everything suggests the playmaker could be fully fit for the game against Real Madrid.
This could serve as a major blow for Los Blancos, whose relatively shaky defence has made Arsene Wenger bet on Man City. Only time will tell whether or not the former Arsenal manager’s bet comes out to be a wise one.
According to AS, Real Madrid have sent a three-year contract offer with improved wages to Dani Ceballos and trust that the midfielder will continue at the club.
Ceballos is the last among the seven Los Blancos’ stars who entered the 2022/23 season with an expiring contract whose future is yet to be resolved.
Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Karim Benzema have all left Real Madrid while Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Nacho Fernandez are all set to continue at the Santiago Bernabeu for one more year.
As such, Ceballos remains the only player whose future remains unclear at this point.
The 26-year-old Spanish international has shown that he can offer value to the team and the club and manager Carlo Ancelotti are understood to ‘love’ him and want to retain his services.
Fans, too, made their feelings about the midfielder very clear this past weekend when Real Madrid played Athletic Club, as they chanted ‘Ceballos, stay!’
The Merengues have sent in a three-year proposal to the former Real Betis ace which includes an improvement in his wages. As such, the club expect him to pen the deal and continue at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Ceballos is yet to make a decision as he is weighing up the fact that he will have to compete for a place with six other midfielders.
Indeed, Real Madrid already have Kroos, Modric, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni as competition for Ceballos. Now, they will also add Jude Bellingham to the roster, further amping up the battle for places.
Ceballos has two more offers apart from the one from Real Madrid – one from Spain and Italy each, although his former club Real Betis have not sent a proposal yet.
With the season over and less than three weeks left on his contract, it remains to be seen what the Real Madrid ace decides.
