Real Madrid News
Real Madrid forward’s situation growing ‘complicated’, could leave the club
Jose Mourinho had a massive decision to make over the centre-forward situation this summer, especially with the team having Gonzalo Garcia and Endrick competing for a single spot in the team.
The former promised to be a valuable substitute to count on last season and pitched in with crucial goals. The latter, meanwhile, came off a promising loan stint in the Ligue 1 and a decent cameo at the FIFA World Cup.
Eventually, Mourinho opted that Garcia be the one to depart, especially with Fulham interested in shelling out a big fee. Instead of trusting Endrick, however, the club have now gone on and signed Carlos Espi as a backup centre-forward.
A ‘complicated’ situation
As confirmed by Ruben Martin of Diario AS in a recent update, Endrick’s situation is now growing complicated.
The Brazilian star was already uncomfortable with the potential overbooking in the centre-forward situation, presumably because it indicated a lack of faith in his abilities and fewer minutes.
With Gonzalo Garcia leaving and Espi arriving immediately, the situation is not likely to go down well with the player at all.
After all, he returned from Olympique Lyon where he was the centre of attention just to make his presence felt at Real Madrid. Seeing the club overlook him so blatantly will not be an easy pill to swallow
A departure is possible
In what comes as another shock, Alberto Pereiro reports that Endrick could well be on his way out of the club this summer.
Needless to say, a departure is more likely to be triggered by the player himself than by the club given the entire situation.
At just 20 years of age, Endrick is looking for regular minutes or at least a role of significance in the team he represents next season. At this point, it does not look like Real Madrid can even remotely promise him either.
The coming days will thus be crucial to see how the entire saga plays out and what message the club send out to the young striker. At this point, it will require something special to win his confidence and loyalty back.
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.
