Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward wants to leave for free, club reluctant to terminate contract
With less than a week left before the summer transfer window closes, Real Madrid are continuing to focus on their outgoings.
Los Blancos are working hard to find a suitor for out-of-favour defender Alvaro Odriozola, while they also remain intent on getting rid of attacking outcast Mariano Diaz.
The 29-year-old striker has been told that he does not belong in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s plans and has been put up for sale. But for the longest part of the summer, he was reluctant to leave and wanted to see out his contract which expires next year.
However, there has been a change in Mariano’s stance recently, with the centre-forward now willing to consider leaving Real Madrid, as long as it is for another club in La Liga.
Now, AS is reporting that the former Olympique Lyon forward has added another condition for his exit this summer. As per the report, Mariano is now keen on leaving Real Madrid only if they terminate his contract and let him leave for free.
However, the Merengues are reluctant to entertain such an idea as they do not want to hand the striker a letter of freedom, even though they will be getting rid of his €9.5 million per year gross salary.
Instead, the champions of Spain and Europe are intent on getting some cash in exchange for the player’s departure, having invested over €30 million to sign him in 2018.
Mariano has attracted interest from several clubs in La Liga, but there have been no concrete offers made as of yet, mostly due to his wages.
However, Real Madrid believe that clubs could come forward in the final week of the window as there are likely to be some major striker departures – Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad is headed to Newcastle, Almeria’s Umar Sadiq could leave while Espanyol’s Raul De Tomas is also a target for many teams.
Hence, the Merengues are not rushing to make a decision on Mariano’s future and will not hand him a letter of freedom as of yet until it becomes clear that they cannot make any money from his departure.
There is a possibility that Real Madrid could consider a deal similar to Luka Jovic’s move to Fiorentina, where he was allowed to leave for free with Los Blancos retaining a percentage of future sales.
Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia dreams of playing for Spanish giants Real Madrid, the winger’s father has revealed following the UEFA Champions League clash between the two teams last night.
Kvaratskhelia, 22, exploded upon arriving at Napoli last year, leading them to the Serie A title on the back of his explosive performances.
The Georgian winger has been impressing in the ongoing campaign as well, although he failed to score or assist in either of Napoli’s meetings with Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages.
Kvaratskhelia has previously spoken about how he has always been a lifelong supporter of Real Madrid and grew up idolising some of the club’s legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Guti, among others.
Now, the 22-year-old winger’s father has revealed that his son has always dreamt of and continues to dream of playing for Real Madrid.
As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Kvaratskhelia’s father said: “Khvicha always dreamed and still dreams of playing for Real Madrid. I am sure about it.”
Talking about the fact that the winger got to play against Real Madrid, Kvaratskhelia’s father added: “For Khvicha, playing vs Real Madrid was special. In my family, everyone is a Real Madrid supporter, except me.”
Real Madrid are in the market for attacking reinforcements, but they are looking for a centre-forward next summer and have Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland as their main targets.
As for Kvaratskhelia, whose market value stands at €85 million, it seems quite apparent that he harbours dreams of playing for Real Madrid. But it remains to be seen if there is some interest from Los Blancos in signing the winger.
