Real Madrid News
Real Madrid looking for an opponent to arrange a friendly match in December
La Liga came to a halt earlier this week due to the impending FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The Spanish top flight will resume in late December around ten days after the finals of the tournament.
In between that teams will continue to prepare for the second half of the campaign with the players that will not be participating in the World Cup.
As for Real Madrid, manager Carlo Ancelotti has given a vacation to the players who will not be travelling to Qatar and will reconvene training on December 1.
Following that the stars who will return from the World Cup will be integrated into training after a ten-day vacation for them.
And in order to prepare properly for the second half of the season, Real Madrid are now looking to arrange a friendly encounter in December and are searching for an opposition to do so, reports Mundo Deportivo.
Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona are already in talks with Arsenal to arrange a friendly encounter in December at the Emirates Stadium. And the reigning champions will also likely follow suit as they look for a suitable opposition.
Los Blancos will resume their campaign with a tie against Real Valladolid either on December 30 or 31 and want to play one friendly as part of preparations for that game before that.
The match could be played behind closed doors at the club’s Valdebebas training facilities.
Even though the Merengues started the season like a house on fire, things did not end all too well for them ahead of the World Cup break.
A few missteps in La Liga meant that Ancelotti’s side are trailing Barça by two points and will need to hit the ground running when the campaign resumes. So, playing a friendly match to get the players back in tune would be a good move.
Real Madrid News
€40 million midfielder prefers a move to Real Madrid over Premier League clubs – report
The race for Jude Bellingham has become tightly contested in recent weeks. Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid all pursue the Borussia Dortmund star closely and hope to win his signing come June.
Given the heavy competition, it is natural that the clubs have alternative names on their tables. One such name on the radars of the aforementioned clubs is Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga.
The La Liga midfielder has offers from the Premier League for the summer. However, SER reports that the player has asked Real Madrid if they will match the offer from England and has displayed his interest in joining the club.
Veiga’s release clause with Celta Vigo is valued at €40 million. If the Merengues can match such a valuation, either through direct means or player exchanges, the young phenom will don white next season.
Real Madrid have followed Veiga’s profile for a while now and have made their interest in his signing known to his environment. Yet, the Spanish outlet also adds that Veiga’s potential arrival in June would not close the doors for Jude Bellingham’s signing.
Rafa Marin of Real Madrid Castilla is a player who interests Celta Vigo, and unsurprisingly is one of the names on Los Blancos’ table to utilise in a swap deal for Veiga. Yet, it is safe to say that talks of a player exchange are in a rudimentary stage.
The 20-year-old Spanish phenom has lit up La Liga this season. In 25 appearances for Celta Vigo this season, he has scored nine goals and provided three assists. He averages close to one key pass per game and has created five big chances in his league campaign.
With Los Blancos unwilling to let go of Bellingham’s pursuit irrespective of Veiga’s signing, the question will boil down to the financial leeway the Merengues have and whether they can afford to shell out €40 million in addition to the Englishman’s fee.
