Real Madrid News
La Liga defender opens up on past transfer links to Real Madrid: “I don’t know”
Ahead of Villarreal’s La Liga match against Real Madrid later this evening, defender Pau Torres has opened up on the rumours linking him with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu in the recent past.
The Spanish international had been on the radars of several top clubs during the summer window, with Real Madrid also being credited with an interest. However, nothing materialised as Torres ended up staying at Villarreal, while Los Blancos brought in Antonio Rudiger.
As he gears up to take on Madrid today, Torres opened up on the transfer rumours during an interview with AS and said: “Well, I don’t know how much there was talk about me or not in that sense either.
“In the end, it was just rumours, but I never had a call from anyone, or anything like that. My work has always been focused on the club, and when you play these kinds of games you always want to give your best, because in the end, it’s in these games that you see the real people.”
During the same chat, Torres revealed how he desired to beat Real Madrid, as he had never seen a victory against the reigning Spanish champions.
“Beating teams like Madrid or Barcelona is very special, I remember recently when we won in Barcelona… that day I thought we had already beaten them and that I haven’t beaten Madrid,” Torres said.
“It’s true that since I’ve been here we’ve played some very good games against Madrid, but we haven’t been able to win. We haven’t managed to get past a draw and it’s another challenge I’m looking forward to. It’s always nice to beat the best and beating Real Madrid is something everyone would like to do.”
Praising Carlo Ancelotti’s side, he added: “They are a team that can do many things, we see that they have no trouble scoring goals and take advantage of any space to do damage. There’s no need to explain the quality and capabilities of an opponent like this.”
Highlighting the threat posed by Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema, Torres said: “Vinicius has shown that with space he is a decisive player, we will have to be very close to him and not give him many options.
“And Benzema is the latest Ballon d’Or, a great player who has been getting better and better in recent years and who is going to take advantage of the slightest chance he gets. So we’ll try not to give them any chances.”
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
