Real Madrid News
Real Madrid reject chance to sign €120 million-rated Portuguese forward in January
Rafael Leao is one of the hottest names on the market at the moment given his red got form. After a good start to his season at AC Milan, the youngster has impressed with the Portuguese National Team at the FIFA World Cup and is catching the eyes of suitors across the globe.
With his client clocking good numbers, Jorge Mendes sees it as the perfect time to mould a transfer for the forward and has thus offered his services to Real Madrid. According to reports from MARCA, Los Blancos put their foot down and firmly replied that they had no interest in signing the player in January.
It has been publicly known for a while now that Real Madrid will not make any additions to their team in the winter, especially with Ancelotti explicitly stating the same in his press conferences.
Now it seems all the more clear that the club will not bend even for quality players available on the market.
The 23-year-old has already scored two goals at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar with over 1.2 shots per game. Further, he has six goals, and four assists in just 12 starts for AC Milan in Serie A alone.
The player’s current contract with AC Milan sees him in Italy until the summer of 2024. Given that there is just over a year on his deal, it is the best possible time for interested parties to make the swoop for him.
However, Milan are trying to extend his contract and include a fresh release clause worth nearly €120-150 million.
It remains to be seen if Florentino Perez shows any interest in the Portuguese international in the summer, but it looks unlikely given the heavy expenditure planned for Endrick. Further, there is a feeling that Leao does not fill the exact void that exists in the Madrid-based side’s attack, given that he is a winger.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
