Real Madrid News
Kylian Mbappe chooses his top 3 for Ballon d’Or, names Real Madrid striker as favourite
When one looks back at how the summer transfer window has progressed this year, Kylian Mbappe’s decision to renew at Paris and snub Real Madrid would appear to be one of the biggest surprises.
It is well known that his decision was not purely economically motivated, for there were several political factors in play too. Moreover, the player has not ruled out a future move to his dream club.
The youngster was asked to name his top three contenders for this season’s Ballon d’Or. As revealed by The Mirror, he chose Real Madrid striker and his international teammate Karim Benzema as the favourite to win the award.
“My Ballon d’Or top 3 is Benzema, me & Mane,” he said.
The young winger also explained to L’Equipe why his compatriot deserved the award.
“Benzema favourite for the Ballon d’Or? Obviously. He’s 34 years old, and just had the season of his life. He also won the Champions League by being decisive. If I was Karim, if I didn’t win I’d stop thinking about this award forever.”
Six Real Madrid players have been nominated by France Football for the 2021-22 Ballon d’Or. Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Jr, Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Antonio Rudiger join Benzema on the 30-man shortlist.
It is widely speculated that Benzema will walk away with the award on October 17th. This is the first Ballon d’Or that will be decided based on achievements over a season rather than a calendar year, and the 34-year-old has the statistics to back his case.
Last season, he won La Liga, Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Champions League with his team. In 46 appearances across all competitions, he scored a whopping 44 goals and provided 15 assists.
Real Madrid News
‘Operation Havertz’ collapses as Real Madrid determine Tottenham striker as ‘urgent’ signing
Jose Felix Diaz of MARCA has provided an update on Real Madrid’s pursuit of Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, claiming that the operation has collapsed completely and the German international will not be joining the Merengues this summer.
Instead, Real Madrid have identified Tottenham Hotspur and England superstar Harry Kane as the top priority and an ‘urgent’ signing for the summer.
With Los Blancos set to bid goodbye to several attackers, they are left with just Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes as senior options in the final third at the moment. So, there will be multiple forwards brought in this summer to make up for the losses.
Havertz was said to be one such player who was well-liked within the club. In fact, reports in Germany stated that the 23-year-old was already on his way to Real Madrid in the summer.
However, that does not appear to be the case as the report from MARCA states that the operation to sign Havertz from Chelsea has already collapsed.
It is claimed that Real Madrid never made any move for the former Bayer Leverkusen ace, while it is also being suggested that he is going through the process of renewing his contract at Stamford Bridge.
While Havertz might no longer be an option on the table, the Merengues are prepared to make a concerted push to sign Kane from Tottenham.
Carlo Ancelotti considers the 29-year-old the ideal replacement for Karim Benzema and wants to sign him up as soon as possible.
However, Real Madrid do not intend to pay over the top for the England striker and will not offer more than €80 million for him. Instead, there may be a possibility that Ferland Mendy could be offered as a makeweight.
Kane’s contract expires next year and with no European football on offer, Tottenham are in a difficult position to keep hold of their ace goalscorer. But negotiations with Daniel Levy are never easy, as Real Madrid learnt in the past in the cases of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
So, it remains to be seen if Los Blancos are successful in completing the ‘urgent’ and ‘necessary’ signing of Kane in the coming weeks.
