Real Madrid News
Real Madrid captain speaks out after renewal: “The club has taught me everything”
Real Madrid officially announced the renewal of veteran defender and new captain Nacho Fernandez on Thursday to put an end to one of the club’s most anticipated extension sagas. The story of the centre-back’s continuity had no shortage of ups and downs, but all roads eventually led to Real Madrid.
After all, the 33-year-old has known no other club in his professional career to date.
Nacho’s history with the Merengues runs back to 2001 when he joined the club’s academy at the Alevin stage. He made the step up from the U-19 setup to the C team in 2008. Just one year later, he moved into the Castilla setup and was eyeing a spot in the first team.
It was in 2013 that the defender made the jump to the senior setup, and there has been no looking back since then. To this day, Nacho continues to be the epitome of loyalty and professionalism and is rightly the club captain.
Nacho spoke to Directo Gol about his renewal with Real Madrid and what it meant to him. His reply stood for all the years he spent growing up at the club and how his association with the Merengues was more than just a sporting bond.
“I don’t think of a life without Real Madrid. The club has taught me everything: education and values,” he said.
The veteran always held a renewal with the club as his first choice. However, a lack of playing time tempted him to look towards other options on his table for the final stage of his career.
He has signed only a one-year extension for the time being, and any further renewal will depend on his prominence in the team.
Nacho is not expected to be a starter next season, for David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Antonio Rudiger all sit above him on the pecking order. However, the club legend’s versatility makes him the first-choice replacement for any injured starter in central defence or the full-back positions.
Real Madrid News
Mbappe hits out at claims on his unhappiness at Real Madrid: ‘Angry at my great aunt too’
Kylian Mbappe has been in the news for a plethora of reasons in recent weeks, starting with his injury and surprise vacation. Beyond that, the Ballon d’Or saga has kept him in the spotlight for a reasonable while now.
The Frenchman, after all, has not held back in speaking out about why he deserves to win the prestigious individual award, and while it is perfectly okay to campaign for the award, it is something that has not usually been done in the past.
In terms of his goalscoring numbers, there is no doubt that Mbappe should be a frontrunner for the award. His lack of a single trophy for both club and country, however, works against his chances.
Mbappe’s sarcastic reply to baseless rumours
Earlier today, there were reports of Kylian Mbappe being angry with Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid for not campaigning for him to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
The rumours, needless to say, portrayed the player in a very bad light and made it seem like the club not making public gestures to acknowledge and back his campaign affected him personally.
Now, the player has himself come out to lash out at the journalists, albeit in a sarcastic manner. Commenting directly below the post making the claim via Fabrizio Romano, the player wrote,
“Yes, yes, I even got angry with my great aunt too.”
Mbappe’s ability to deal with such reports with a tinge of humour, needless to say, is impressive and it can only be good for his image that he spoke out and cut off the news at its roots.
Set to return
There has been significant concern around Mbappe’s fitness in recent weeks after the player left the French national team with an injury after their first game.
The initial diagnosis appeared worrying, but it soon came to light that the player had avoided a major setback by a hair’s breadth.
Now, there is increasing hope that the Frenchman will be back for Real Madrid’s first game after the break against Villarreal, possibly even as a starter.
Needless to say, that comes as a massive positive for Jose Mourinho’s plans ahead of a crucial stretch of the season.
