Real Madrid News
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez speaks out against racist abuse of Vinicius Jr
After having held a meeting and talked privately with Vinicius Jr yesterday, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has sent out a strong message against the racist abuse that the Brazilian international has faced.
The 22-year-old has been repeatedly targeted with racist slurs by opposition fans. It happened against Atletico Madrid, Mallorca, Real Valladolid and more recently at the Mestalla when the Merengues played Valencia this past weekend.
The situation got out of hand and the referee failed to deal with the matter appropriately, with manager Carlo Ancelotti criticising officials for not stopping the match.
Meanwhile, Vinicius has hit out at La Liga and the RFEF for their lack of action in the matter as well, with the league president Javier Tebas coming under intense pressure for his tactless handling of the situation.
Earlier today, manager Ancelotti called on La Liga and the Spanish Federation to take concrete actions against racists and now Perez has echoed those sentiments, saying (h/t MARCA):
“I want to announce that Real Madrid will not tolerate any more racist incidents with our players. The refereeing structure must be changed so that the victim of the crime does not bear the responsibility as it is happening now.”
Following the incident, Vinicius has received a wave of support from footballers, past and present, as well as personalities from other sports and completely other fields.
There have been some reports that the 22-year-old might have doubts about continuing at the club after the series of unfortunate events. But, Ancelotti, in his press conference, stated that the thought is not on Vinicius’ mind as he loves Real Madrid.
Real Madrid News
Harry Kane ‘very close’ to completing Real Madrid move, only final details remain – report
Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid was finally closed earlier today as officially confirmed by Borussia Dortmund on their website. Yet, the offices at Santiago Bernabeu have not even taken a break to celebrate their success.
According to reports from Alfredo Pedullà, Los Blancos are now completely focused on the acquisition of Harry Kane. The English striker’s arrival is very close to approaching closure and only a few details remain to be sorted.
The Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur representatives reportedly held a meeting today over the striker’s transfer. The agenda was to agree on a number for the transfer fee.
The Premier League side began the proceedings with an expectation of €100 to €110 million in exchange for Kane. However, the Merengues suggested a lower point at €80 to €90 million, albeit with the option to include bonuses.
There is not much separating the two parties at the moment, and the minor gap will be bridged in the coming days. Overall, the meeting ended with a broad understanding between the two clubs.
Carlo Ancelotti sees the English striker as the centre-piece of his attack for next season given the recent departure of Karim Benzema. After all, Kane has been one of football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past decade.
Yet, Los Blancos cannot afford to let their guard down with one signing and will need to rope in at least two more names in attack to serve as backup options. The exits of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Eden Hazard leave them with no squad depth, after all.
Kane has scored 30, 17, and 23 goals in his last three seasons in the Premier League and is the epitome of consistency. Further, he had three assists in his most recent league season and created 14 big chances.
