Real Madrid News
Real Madrid could rename club’s training facility to ‘Florentino Perez Sports City’
Real Madrid have a tradition of naming landmarks and buildings related to the team after club legends and presidents.
Santiago Bernabeu, one of the Merengues‘ most successful presidents who also served as a player, has the first team’s stadium named after him.
The Castilla team’s stadium is also named after former honorary president and one of the greatest players in Real Madrid’s history – Alfredo Di Stefano.
According to reports from MARCA, there is a proposal to name the club’s training facilities, called the Real Madrid Sports City, after the current club president, and call it ‘Florentino Perez Sports City’.
A worthy candidate
Perez took over as the president of the Merengues back in 2000 from Lorenzo Sans. The world remembers his promise to bring Barcelona star Luis Figo to the club, which he lived up to.
In the following years, Perez signed some of the world’s best players and made them don white.
Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Robinho are just some of the innumerable stars he roped in, giving the team the title of the ‘Galacticos.’
The Spanish businessman resigned from his post in 2006 but was re-elected in 2009. In his second tenure as club president, he oversaw a new generation of greats including Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Kaka.
His presidency has remained unchallenged since his re-election in 2006, and it is safe to say that Perez will go down as one of the team’s most successful presidents in history.
Naming the Valdebebas in honour of him is thus a decision that few will challenge as unworthy.
Where does the proposal stand?
A group of presidents from Real Madrid’s official supporters’ clubs are collecting signatures for this initiative. If nothing happens, it will be transferred to the next General Assembly of Real Madrid for approval.
As it stands, it appears that the proposal will be approved by the delegates once the signatures have been recorded. After all, Perez has the complete trust of all stakeholders.
The Real Madrid Sports City covers 1.2 million square metres. It was inaugurated in 2005 with 11 natural and artificial grass football pitches and a stadium with a capacity for 6,000 spectators.
It also has a basketball court, a state-of-the-art medical centre, and a building that serves as the club’s office.
Aurelien Tchouameni has had an exciting start to his career at Real Madrid. Since joining the club for almost €80 million last summer, the young Frenchman has now become a pivotal figure in Real Madrid’s midfield unit.
However, prior to his move to Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder was closely linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
In a recent interview, Tchouameni opened up on his links to PSG but revealed his decision to join Real Madrid.
Aurelien Tchouameni on PSG links
Talking about speculations linking him to PSG, Tchouameni said (h/t Madrid Zone), “PSG? Frankly, I thought about it. It’s a very big European club, we want the French clubs to succeed.”
“But honestly, when Real Madrid calls you, it’s very complicated to say no,” Tchouameni added.
The midfielder was linked with a move to PSG during his time at AS Monaco. Les Parisiens wanted to sign the youngster as part of their plans to reinforce the midfield unit.
Tchouameni, though, ended up opting for a move to Real Madrid, which turned out to be a prudent decision from the midfielder’s end.
Tchouameni’s career at Real Madrid
Aurelien Tchouameni made a total of 50 competitive appearances during his maiden season at Real Madrid.
Although the Frenchman was not entirely a first-team regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s setup, his stature in the team is expected to grow in the coming years.
Especially as Toni Kroos and Luka Modric move on at the end of the season, there is scope for Tchouameni to become a first-team regular in the Real Madrid midfield in the years to come.
The former AS Monaco starlet has already played a crucial role in the starting eleven so far this season and it is only going to continue as the season progresses.
