Real Madrid News
Real Madrid-linked La Liga prodigy ‘dreams’ of Arsenal; Liverpool, Man City also keen
Gabri Veiga of Celta Vigo is one of the breakout stars of the 2022/23 La Liga campaign, having caught the attention with stellar performances from midfield.
The 20-year-old has netted eight goals and set up three more from 24 La Liga appearances for the Galician outfit, forcing some of the top clubs in Spain and outside to sit up and take notice.
Real Madrid are one of the clubs interested in signing Veiga, who has a release clause worth €40 million embedded in his contract with Celta. However, Los Blancos will face competition from neighbours Atletico Madrid, who are also keen on the young Spaniard.
But, according to Manu Sainz of AS, the Celta Vigo midfielder ‘dreams’ of playing for Arsenal.
Veiga is also attracting significant interest from clubs in England, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United understood to be keeping tabs on him. Serie A champions AC Milan are also said to be his admirers.
Indeed, the journalist suggests that the Gunners are the 20-year-old’s favourite club outside of Spain and he harbours ambitions of turning out for them in his career.
If true, this could come as a setback for Real Madrid and their hopes to sign Veiga. Recent reports suggested that Los Blancos were keen on adding the young midfielder to their ranks, irrespective of their pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
However, they were unwilling to match the 20-year-old’s €40 million release clause amount. Instead, the idea was to offer €25 million plus a player, Rafa Marin, as part of the operation.
But with Veiga dreaming of playing for Arsenal and the Gunners understood to be interested in signing him, Real Madrid might end up missing out on the young sensation.
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.
