Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list to face Real Sociedad
As Real Madrid gear up to face Real Sociedad later tonight at the Reale Arena, manager Carlo Ancelotti has released the squad list that will be available at his disposal for the game.
In a major development, star striker and club captain Karim Benzema has not made it to the squad for the game, with Ancelotti likely keeping him out with an eye on the Copa del Rey final against CA Osasuna later this week.
Meanwhile, Luka Modric and Ferland Mendy miss out due to injuries while Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Jr are also absent as they serve their respective one-match suspensions for accumulation of cards.
David Alaba, who returned to training on Monday, is also not been risked.
There are call-ups for young talents such as Nico Paz, Luis Lopez, Sergio Arribas, and Carlos Dotor while Alvaro Rodriguez also makes a return to the first-team fold after having recovered from an injury.
Given the dearth of options in attack, we might see Rodriguez get some minutes against Sociedad, while out-of-favour stars like Eden Hazard and Mariano Diaz could also get a run-out.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @RealSociedadEN!#RealSociedadRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/EbRM6hC0A3
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 2, 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.
