Real Madrid News
Hazard, Valverde, Rudiger feature as Real Madrid draw against Getafe in friendly – report
Real Madrid played out a goalless draw against Getafe in their second friendly match ahead of the resumption of the 2022/23 season.
Los Blancos will restart their season on December 30 with an away trip to Real Valladolid and have been working towards preparing for the match by arranging friendly matches.
Carlo Ancelotti & co. had played out a draw against Leganes last week in a friendly that consisted of two halves of thirty minutes each and had ended in a 1-1 draw with Toni Kroos scoring.
And as per Rodra P, Real Madrid played Getafe for a total of ninety minutes unlike the previous match vs Leganes. The game ended in a 0-0 draw.
During the match, manager Carlo Ancelotti gave minutes to World Cup returnees like Antonio Rudiger, Eden Hazard, Federico Valverde, Thibaut Courtois, Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal.
Karim Benzema once again started and captained the team, showing that he has put all his injury woes behind him and is ready to lead Real Madrid from the front again when the season resumes in a week.
Likewise, there were also minutes for Real Madrid Castilla starlet Sergio Arribas, who has been making a huge impression for Raul Gonzalez’s side. Another promising youngster, Nico Paz, is also understood to have featured against Getafe.
Real Madrid started with Courtois in goal while Lucas Vázquez, Nacho, David Alaba, and Ferland Mendy formed the defence. Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos and Valverde lined up in the middle of the park, while Asensio, Benzema and Hazard formed the attacking unit.
Ancelotti is said to have made two changes at half-time, two more at the hour-mark and another two in the 70th minute. Asensio and Nico Paz were reportedly the players who stood out on the day for the Merengues.
The only players to not feature in today’s friendly are the Brazil trio of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes and Eder Militao, along with Croatia captain Luka Modric and the French duo of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni.
The six players were part of the FIFA World Cup until the latter stages and are still away on vacation. They are expected to be back in the coming days.
Real Madrid News
€40 million midfielder prefers a move to Real Madrid over Premier League clubs – report
The race for Jude Bellingham has become tightly contested in recent weeks. Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid all pursue the Borussia Dortmund star closely and hope to win his signing come June.
Given the heavy competition, it is natural that the clubs have alternative names on their tables. One such name on the radars of the aforementioned clubs is Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga.
The La Liga midfielder has offers from the Premier League for the summer. However, SER reports that the player has asked Real Madrid if they will match the offer from England and has displayed his interest in joining the club.
Veiga’s release clause with Celta Vigo is valued at €40 million. If the Merengues can match such a valuation, either through direct means or player exchanges, the young phenom will don white next season.
Real Madrid have followed Veiga’s profile for a while now and have made their interest in his signing known to his environment. Yet, the Spanish outlet also adds that Veiga’s potential arrival in June would not close the doors for Jude Bellingham’s signing.
Rafa Marin of Real Madrid Castilla is a player who interests Celta Vigo, and unsurprisingly is one of the names on Los Blancos’ table to utilise in a swap deal for Veiga. Yet, it is safe to say that talks of a player exchange are in a rudimentary stage.
The 20-year-old Spanish phenom has lit up La Liga this season. In 25 appearances for Celta Vigo this season, he has scored nine goals and provided three assists. He averages close to one key pass per game and has created five big chances in his league campaign.
With Los Blancos unwilling to let go of Bellingham’s pursuit irrespective of Veiga’s signing, the question will boil down to the financial leeway the Merengues have and whether they can afford to shell out €40 million in addition to the Englishman’s fee.
