Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender given World Cup hope after inclusion in preliminary squad by national team manager
As the club football season nears its end, the hype and anticipation for the FIFA World Cup begin to take over.
The event is set to begin in less than a month, and national teams across the globe have begun releasing their preliminary squad lists for the tournament.
Earlier this week, England also released Thomas Tuchel’s preliminary squad for the World Cup, and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham unsurprisingly made the cut.
Also in the list is his Real Madrid teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold whose inclusion has come as quite a surprise.
Back in the mix
Indeed, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, Trent’s return to the Three Lions’ squad has come as a surprise for many fans across the globe, especially given how he was not a part of Tuchel’s squad in recent international breaks.
The Real Madrid defender did not even enter the list for England’s games against Uruguay and Japan in March and was expected to possibly miss the World Cup as Tuchel had several options above him.
Injuries to Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento and Arsenal’s Ben White, however, have handed Trent a route back into the World Cup squad.
Needless to say, however, it still does not imply that he will make the final squad or, if he does, go on to be a starter as Reece James continues to be above him on the manager’s pecking order.
The current provisional list includes 55 players and will be trimmed down to 26 names when Tuchel announces his final list on May 22. It remains to be seen if Trent continues to be on the list after that amendment.
So far this season, Trent has made just 13 starts for Real Madrid in La Liga and has four assists to his name. Fitness struggles largely limited his participation, although he has managed to stay fit and grow into the manager’s plans in recent weeks.
Real Madrid News
Jose Mourinho was always clear about getting rid of Real Madrid midfielder this summer – report
Real Madrid’s summer transfer window was largely successful, not only in terms of securing key arrivals but also in terms of letting go of players who had no place in the dynamics.
One player who stood out in the second category was Dani Ceballos as the Spanish midfielder was frozen out of Real Madrid’s starting dynamics for several years before his eventual departure.
In the end, the club simply let the player leave as a free agent by accepting a contract termination as they saw the salary space freed as a win compared to his presence.
Mourinho’s clear stance
As confirmed in a recent report by Diario AS, Real Madrid’s new manager Jose Mourinho has no doubt that he did not count on Ceballos for the ongoing season.
Being the straightforward communicator that he is, the Portuguese manager directly informed Ceballos that he did not count on him in any capacity, speaking out loud about a fact that was known as an open secret for a long time.
Having clarity that his situation at the club was not going to change, Ceballos pressed to leave and eventually had his way as the club allowed him to walk out of the front door with no transfer fee.
Times were tense
The Spanish outlet also add that the decision to let the player leave with a contract termination was not easy for Real Madrid to accept, especially given that it is a last resort.
In the negotiations between Ceballos and the Real Madrid hierarchy, there were some moments filled with tension and disagreements.
In fact, there was even an initial exit agreement that was reached which was cancelled in the hope of a better outcome.
Eventually, however, both parties reached a fitting resolution and Real Madrid enabled the player’s departure without any hurdles and Ceballos went on to join Real Betis.
Even that move required the player to take a massive cut on his salary, but the saga worked out well for both clubs as the player. From Real Madrid’s perspective, the space created on the team’s roster was worth its weight in gold.
