Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward sends clear message over future amidst Barcelona links
Marco Asensio is fighting for his future at Real Madrid. The 27-year-old winger is out of contract at the end of the season and there is no concrete decision made by the club over his renewal as of yet.
Some reports had suggested that the club had tabled an offer worth €4 million per year, which the Spaniard did not like as he sought a higher pay packet closer to around €6 million-a-year.
With his future a subject of intense speculation, Asensio had been linked with a move away to Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, closer to home, there were strong links to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Indeed, the Catalans have been touted as potential suitors for Asensio for quite some time now due to the fact that he is represented by Jorge Mendes.
The superagent has close ties with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and reports in Spain have suggested that the Real Madrid winger has, indeed, been offered to the current La Liga leaders.
Amidst these speculations, however, Asensio has seemingly made it clear as to where his heart lies as he awaits a decision on his future.
During last night’s El Clasico against Barcelona, the Real Madrid winger came on as a substitute and went on to score a goal, following which he celebrated at Camp Nou, pointing to the Real Madrid logo on his shirt, showing where his allegiances lie.
The goal, however, was disallowed by the VAR, and Los Blancos ended up losing the game 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Franck Kessie.
Earlier today, Asensio took to Instagram and posted a picture of him celebrating with his finger pointing to the Real Madrid logo, reiterating his commitment to the club amidst the links to Barcelona.
As for his disallowed goal, it sparked an angry reaction from Carlo Ancelotti, who questioned the legitimacy of the decision made by the VAR during his post-match press conference.
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.
