Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list to face Barcelona | Copa del Rey
Real Madrid have released their official squad list ahead of tomorrow’s Copa Del Rey semifinal against FC Barcelona.
Antonio Rudiger was the notable absentee for Real Madrid in their last game against Valladolid due to knee discomfort. But the German is back in the squad and is in contention to start against Barcelona tomorrow.
Another absentee was Mariano Diaz, but even the former Lyon star is now back on the team sheet, even though his involvement in tomorrow’s game remains a doubt.
Another notable inclusion in the team is David Alaba, who had started at centre-back against Valladolid, in the absence of Rudiger. Dani Carvajal, too, makes the list and should start ahead of Lucas Vazquez at right-back.
On the flip side, Ferland Mendy misses out once again due to injury, while youngster Alvaro Rodriguez has not been called up. So it will be interesting to see who starts at left-back, while Rodriguez’s exclusion means that the team will rely heavily on Karim Benzema once again.
📋✅ Our squad for #ElClásico! pic.twitter.com/IyG0RWIbD1
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 4, 2023
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.
