Real Madrid News
Man United legend believes Man City will ‘blow Real Madrid away’ in the UCL
Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has said that Manchester City are not only capable of beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-final but they are good enough to ‘blow them away’.
Real Madrid host Man City in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, May 9, and judging by the current form, one might argue that the Los Blancos are, in fact, the second favourites.
For what it is worth, City have not lost a game since early February. Ever since losing 0-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in the league, the Premier League champions have gone on to win 17 of their last 20 games while drawing three.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, will head into the fixture on the back of a 2-1 win over Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final. Their form, however, has been a bit shaky, to say the very least.
Before taking on Osasuna, the team had lost 0-2 to Real Sociedad in La Liga and also went down 2-4 against Girona. In April, Carlo Ancelotti’s men played nine games, out of which they ended up on the losing side on two occasions.
Writing in his column for The Times, Manchester United’s all-time topscorer, Wayne Rooney, said that although there is no side better at disproving arguments, City are currently on ‘another level’.
“Manchester City will not just beat Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final — they’ll blow them away,” the former England international wrote.
“Of course, I may be wrong. There is no side better at disproving arguments against them than Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid in the Champions League. But I just think City are so good that they’re on another level,” he added.
One must remember that Madrid defied odds last season when they got the better of City in the same round. This year, however, Rooney believes that the tables have turned.
“A year ago, Madrid put City out of the competition at this stage but the dynamics are different now. City are better at the back and a more patient team who, in the Champions League, have been playing like they have learnt from their European experiences,” he concluded.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia has triggered a wave of massive establishment within the country so much so that the league has approached players like Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos and even Karim Benzema.
Benzema’s departure from Real Madrid is imminent and if a report from Diaro AS is to be believed, the Frenchman contacted his former Madrid teammate, Ronaldo, to ask him for information about the Saudi league, living conditions and other teams.
All this because it is said that the legendary Frenchman has received a lucrative offer from the newly crowned Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad. As reported before, the star striker will earn more than €100 million per year across his two-year contract with the Saudi team.
At the moment, the Saudi government has approved all of Benzema’s requests and while it is said that he can join the team of his choice, Al Ittihad’s recent flirting had made them absolute favourites.
That said, the transfer may have taken a u-turn recently, as Benzema spoke about staying at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.
“Speak to the fans? Speak about what? Why should I speak of the future if I’m in Madrid?”, Benzema said.
“It’s the internet speaking, and reality is not the internet.”
In a recent turn of events, Helder Costa openly spoke about Benzema’s arrival, saying that his team is ‘excited about the arrival of the Balon d’Or winner.’ As if that is not enough, a club fan also showed a Karim Benzema edit on the big screen during their title celebrations.
Meanwhile, since the transfer is not confirmed, Real Madrid continue to be uninformed of Benzema’s decision. And this remains a major problem for the team from the capital city as their summer transfer plan hinges on the continuity of the Frenchman.
At the moment, the team is said to be closing in on the signing of Joselu from Espanyol. However, it must be noted that the forward will only be arriving on a season-long loan as Madrid already have big plans for the summer of 2024, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe both lined up.
