Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list against RB Leipzig
Real Madrid are in dreamland. Following a Champion League and La Liga win last season, they have started their season in faultless fashion. Los Blancos have won all five of their games in the league, and recorded a 0-3 win against Celtic to open their Champions League calendar.
Tomorrow, they will face arguably their biggest test of the season so far, hosting RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu. The squad for the game has been announced.
Karim Benzema is injured, and will miss this UCL headliner, along with Eder Militao and Lucas Vazquez. Madrid do have players ready to fill in for them, but this triple blow, ahead of the Atletico Madrid clash on the weekend, is concerning.
All midfielders are fit and ready to go for the game, with Federico Valverde coming off a sensational weekend against RCD Mallorca.
Rodrygo had quite the second half during that game, playing as the false 9. He has been called up, too, unsurprisingly. He will likely compete with Eden Hazard for that centre-forward spot.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @RBLeipzig_EN!#UCL pic.twitter.com/YefyCaPJWJ
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 13, 2022
The cloud of uncertainty over Karim Benzema’s future has served as a major headache for the Real Madrid board, as they kickstart their team planning ahead of the new season.
Recent reports claim the Frenchman is strongly considering a move to Saudi Arabia, after receiving a lucrative €150 million offer from Al Ittihad. He was close to renewing his contract at Santiago Bernabeu not too long ago, but it appears the tables have turned lately.
Nevertheless, Real Madrid are yet to give up on Benzema and still harbour hopes of renewing his contract in the coming weeks, reports Alfredo Matilla.
The Spanish journalist suggests Real Madrid have not closed the file on Benzema. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has recently met the forward to clarify his future and it appears the club are set to do everything they can to keep hold of the player.
Benzema’s departure, after all, could put the club in a major dilemma, where they must either sign a top-class striker or settle for a low-cost alternative for the entirety of next season.
Harry Kane has been earmarked as the ideal replacement for Benzema. But his acquisition could potentially jeopardise Real Madrid’s bid to sign either Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe in 2024. The club have also faced difficulties negotiating with Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman.
As far as the low-cost options are concerned, Real Madrid are interested in Roberto Firmino, who will become a free agent in the summer.
However, the Brazilian international is not the most productive striker around and his struggles in front of goal could put more pressure on players like Vinicius Junior next season.
Real Madrid, therefore, will hope to keep hold of Benzema’s services for another year. Unfortunately, though, the player has given a cold response so far and left training early, without speaking too much.
So it will be interesting to see whether or not the veteran striker opts to remain at Bernabeu for another year.
