Real Madrid News
Real Madrid new signing full of praise for Ancelotti: “One of the best in the world”
Speaking on his first official interview with Real Madrid TV, new signing Joselu hailed manager Carlo Ancelotti, calling him ‘one of the best in the world’.
Joselu returned to Real Madrid a little over a decade after he left the club, arriving on a season-long loan deal from RCD Espanyol.
Los Blancos paid a loan fee of €500,000 for the 33-year-old striker while they also have an option to make the transfer permanent for €1.5 million.
Joselu enjoyed a spectacular 2022/23 season on a personal level, as he scored 16 goals in La Liga with only Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema outscoring him. However, he could not save Espanyol from relegation.
Having now returned to his boyhood club, Joselu opened up on the prospect of playing under an elite manager like Ancelotti, saying:
“He is one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best. I’ve had many coaches in my career, but I think he can give me a lot of things on a tactical level and above all on a game level because, offensively, I’m a different player to the ones they have in the squad.
“Everything he can teach me and I can learn in the first few months of pre-season will be beneficial.”
Talking about his eye for a goal, Joselu added: “It’s something you are born with. It’s a gift that every footballer has and thank God in my last few seasons I’ve scored quite a few goals and I’m very happy about that and for the Zarra Award because it’s difficult to score goals in the First Division.”
Joselu then spoke about what winning the Champions League/European Cup means for a player and how playing for Real Madrid gives him a chance to do it.
“It’s the biggest thing in football at club level and Madrid is defined by being the best in the world. The best players in history have played here and you always dream of being able to lift a cup like that. If it’s already exciting from the outside, I don’t even want to imagine what it feels like when you win it from the inside,” he said.
Joselu was present in Paris for Real Madrid’s UCL final against Liverpool during the 2022/23 campaign and explained his delight at watching his beloved club lift the trophy.
“In my career, I’ve never hidden the fact that I’ve always been a Madrid fan, I’ve always followed, supported, and loved the club because it’s the club of my childhood. In recent years Carvajal has been part of my family and he gave me the chance to go and enjoy a final.
“I went to support him like everyone else and as a fan it was incredible. It gave me goosebumps, especially when Vini Jr. scored the goal. It’s a lot of emotions and it brings back a lot of memories of your last time here.”
Before leaving Real Madrid in 2012, Joselu made two senior appearances for the club in which he netted two goals. Reminiscing his debut for the Merengues’ first team, he said:
“I made my debut in the first division with the team of my life and it’s a dream. On top of that, I scored a goal.
“I’m always asked who gave me the pass and of course, I have to say that Cristiano Ronaldo gave it to me, one of the best players in the history of Real Madrid and the world. They are moments that are impossible to erase from my memory.”
Signing off with a message for the Real Madrid supporters, Joselu stated: “Thank you very much, fans. The messages of support have been incredible from the moment it was announced that I was going to play for Real Madrid. You are the best fans in the world and Hala Madrid!”
Bernardo Silva was one of Real Madrid’s headline signings last summer. The Portuguese midfielder arrived on a free transfer from Manchester City and appeared destined to become the creative successor to Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the middle of the park.
Indeed, with the club having not signed a new central midfielder, many within Real Madrid saw the veteran star as a solution to the issue.
Manager Jose Mourinho made him a starter from the very beginning in pre-season, but not in his usual role on the right. Instead, he deployed his compatriot as a deep-lying playmaker in the midfield double pivot.
A change in circumstances
Silva failed to have the expected influence when operating in a deeper role in midfield in the chances he got.
Combined with the emergence of Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni’s return to fitness, the Portuguese international has now lost his place in the starting line-up and dropped to the bench.
Bernardo’s situation became particularly striking against Villarreal this past Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, when he did not play a single minute.
Limited opportunities under Mourinho
Bernardo has played six matches for Real Madrid, starting three and coming on as a substitute in another three.
He did not feature against Villarreal or Elche, while his only appearance in the last three matches was a little over 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid. He was not used regularly by the Portugal national team during the international break either.
Across Real Madrid’s eight La Liga fixtures, Silva has accumulated just 282 minutes of playing time.
The Champions League now presents another opportunity for the former Manchester City captain, who has yet to make his European debut for Real Madrid this season.
He missed the match against Inter Milan because he was still serving a suspension carried over from his time at the Etihad Stadium last season.
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will give him an opportunity against AS Roma in the coming week.
For now, the midfielder’s reduced playing time suggests that the Portuguese coach has lost some of his faith in a player who arrived with high expectations after leaving Manchester City.
