Real Madrid News
How Marc Cucurella’s arrival solves a key Champions League headache for Real Madrid
Real Madrid have made waves in the market by signing Marc Cucurella in a big-money deal from Chelsea, just ahead of the World Cup.
Cucurella’s addition to the team will go a long way in solving Real Madrid’s left-back problem, with the player particularly being favoured by new coach Jose Mourinho.
However, apart from solving Real Madrid’s defensive problems, Cucurella will also help address another key issue at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid’s Champions League quota solved
According to AS, Cucurella’s arrival helps Real Madrid offset the loss of Dani Carvajal, both in the short and medium term, when it comes to satisfying UEFA’s registration requirements.
UEFA allows clubs to register 25 players for the Champions League. Of those, 17 slots are freely available, while the remaining eight come with conditions.
Those eight are reserved for players developed at clubs within the same country, and of that group, four must have come through the youth ranks at the registering club itself.
The criterion is not based on nationality, which would constitute employment discrimination, but on where a player was developed between the ages of 15 and 21.
Federico Valverde and Vinicius Jr., for example, are considered locally developed players by UEFA despite being foreign nationals, while Brahim Diaz does not qualify due to his time at Manchester City.
Real Madrid’s current standing
For now, Real Madrid have no pressing concern in this area. Even after Carvajal’s departure, the squad still contains nine players considered Spanish-developed.
Arda Guler will soon join that list, too. The Turkish playmaker completed his third consecutive season at the club this past year, granting him homegrown status in UEFA’s eyes.
Together with Cucurella, that would take Real Madrid to 11 players meeting the homegrown criteria.
Cucurella qualifies comfortably, having spent his entire youth career at Spanish clubs including Espanyol, Barcelona, Eibar and Getafe before moving to Brighton in 2021 at the age of 23.
A medium-term safeguard
Although there is no pressing need for it, Cucurella’s addition does give Real Madrid a medium-term safeguard.
After all, Ceballos has a contract expiring in 2027, the same year as Fran Garcia and Gonzalo Garcia, both of whom could depart.
With Cucurella having signed a six-year deal until 2032, Real Madrid have secured a long-term Spanish quota player for the Champions League.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
