Real Madrid News
Liverpool are ‘very angry’ with defender for leaving on a free transfer, will not release him for Club World Cup
Trent Alexander-Arnold appears set to be Real Madrid’s first signing of the summer and he even officially announced his departure from Liverpool earlier this month.
While he is still contractually bound to the Merseyside club as it stands, his deal runs out in the summer and he has confirmed that he will not renew.
In fact, it is an open secret that his next destination is Real Madrid, despite there being no official communication yet.
Los Blancos will certainly have the right-back’s services for the next season but are looking to hasten the process and rope him in for the upcoming Club World Cup.
Liverpool’s stern counter
As relayed in a recent update by Tiempo de Juego, Liverpool are furious about their star defender leaving the club on a free transfer, especially given all the talk around the loyalty Alexander-Arnold has for the English club.
Losing him as a free agent is undoubtedly a massive blow for Arne Slot’s side that they did not see coming, and Liverpool are thus strongly opposed to doing any more favours for him.
The Merseyside club thus refuse to leave him in time to play the FIFA Club World Cup despite not participating in the event themselves. Given that Trent is contractually bound to them until 30th June, they will only allow him to leave in July.
Real Madrid can secure Trent’s services for the competition in June, but Liverpool expect some token payment in exchange for the generosity. After all, they see it only right that they get something from the defender’s departure.
All eyes are now on Florentino Perez to see if he is open to shelling out a small fee for the star’s immediate recruitment. Needless to say, he may well prefer to wait a month and welcome him on a free transfer.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho reacts to Vinicius suspension: “Why announce it two hours before an important match?”
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has questioned the RFEF Disciplinary Committee’s decision to announce Vinicius Jr.’s four-match suspension just hours before their UEFA Champions League meeting with AS Roma on Wednesday.
The Brazilian has been hit with a four-match ban for his red card against Villarreal, meaning he will miss the matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander, and Valencia.
And, speaking to Movistar+ (h/t MARCA) before the match, the Real Madrid manager was asked whether the punishment could affect the Brazilian psychologically.
Mourinho instead turned his attention to the football authorities and the timing of their announcement.
“I think that is a question for the Committee. Why have they announced the suspension at this particular moment? If you are asking me this question, it is presumably because you think it could affect him,” the Portuguese coach replied.
“You should ask the Committee why they did not announce it this morning, or tomorrow morning. Why do they do it two hours before a match that is important for Real Madrid, which is a Spanish club?” he added, questioning the timing of the decision.
Mourinho explains his tactical approach against Roma
The Real Madrid manager also outlined his plan for facing a Roma side known for their aggressive pressing.
“My intention is to stop them from pressing us so high up the pitch, given the players we have available and as a precaution,” he said.
Continuing, the Portuguese manager added: “They press man-to-man higher up the pitch better than anyone else, and we will see whether we can take advantage of that. If not, they will have to drop their press five or ten metres.”
Why Rudiger over Huijsen
Mourinho also justified his decision to start Antonio Rudiger at centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate rather than Dean Huijsen.
“They played very well together in the last match, Rudiger and Konate, showing great leadership and the ability to withstand a difficult situation when we had ten men for 30 minutes,” he said.
“I am not saying Dean is not capable of playing a match like this, but this is a wonderful atmosphere for Roma and a difficult one for us. I think a player with Antonio’s experience can be important,” Mourinho added.
Finally, Mourinho was asked about his emotions ahead of returning to face Roma, the club he managed between 2021 and 2024.
The Portuguese coach offered a brief response, saying that he had his feelings about the occasion “blocked”.
