Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward believes the board has told Ancelotti not to use him
Life for contract rebels is not easy if they fail to find a new club. Marco Asensio finds himself in a similar situation at Real Madrid after refusing to sign a new deal with the club.
According to reports from El Partidazo de Cope Asensio believes that he has not played a single minute against Eintracht Frankfurt and UD Almeria due to a decision of the club and not Ancelotti.
The winger was offered a renewal by the club but declined it as he felt he deserved a higher salary. While no official proposal was made by Real Madrid, they now refuse to negotiate with the player.
When asked about the forward’s future after his sides win over Almeria, Carlo Ancelotti said,
“As long as Asensio is a Real Madrid player, he will be an important player.”
Yet, the manager’s actions have been contradictory to his words. It remains to be seen if he counts on Asensio in future games, but he has not even called the player off the bench in the last two matches.
Last season, the Spaniard made 31 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid, scoring ten goals in the process. In the Champions League, he scored one goal and provided two assists in eight appearances.
Fifteen days remain in the transfer window and Asensio could still look for a way out of Real Madrid. He is now in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent in June, easing potential negotiations over a transfer.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
