Real Madrid News
Real Madrid send best wishes to former goalkeeper as he announces retirement: “One of our best”
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez has recently announced retirement from professional football, at the age of 42.
The Spanish goalkeeper has decided to hang up his gloves after spending over two decades in top-flight European football.
Real Madrid’s statement on Diego Lopez
In light of his retirement, Real Madrid have issued an official statement on Diego Lopez, acknowledging the goalkeeper’s contributions to the club.
“Following Diego Lopez’s announcement of his retirement as a football player, Real Madrid C. F. wishes to express its affection, appreciation, and recognition of a great professional and one of our best goalkeepers. The best of luck, Diego, for you and your family,” read the statement.
Diego Lopez was formerly a member of the Real Madrid youth side. But after featuring in only a handful of matches, he joined Villarreal in 2007.
Lopez didn’t have to look back since, as he established himself as a top-class goalkeeper in the years to come. He eventually returned to Real Madrid in 2013, initially as a replacement for the then-injured Iker Casillas.
Lopez, though, ended up becoming Real Madrid’s first-choice goalkeeper throughout the 2013/14 campaign. He notably won the Champions League in 2014, under the leadership of Carlo Ancelotti, though he featured in only one game.
The veteran goalkeeper left the Bernabeu in the summer of 2014 after making over 50 competitive appearances and winning the UCL title.
Lopez joined AC Milan in 2014, but he also had a brief spell in Espanyol. The goalkeeper had most recently played for Rayo Vallecano until this past summer.
But after failing to find a club since the summer transfer window, Lopez has decided to hang up his gloves and end his career with almost 400 appearances in La Liga, along with a coveted UCL title with Real Madrid.
With the international break done and dusted, Real Madrid will be back in action this weekend in La Liga, where they will be looking to catch up to league leaders FC Barcelona.
Coming up for Jose Mourinho & co., who lost their last game before the international break, will be a home game against Villarreal on Saturday.
And, leading up to the game, the Spanish capital club have received welcome news on the injury front.
Mbappe back in group training
Indeed, as per MARCA, Kylian Mbappe will be available for Real Madrid’s match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Having been training individually so far this week, the France captain rejoined group training under Mourinho today, taking a concrete step forward towards making himself available for the game.
The forward looked relaxed and ready to work, putting his boots back on and joining the group as Real Madrid prepare for a demanding run of fixtures throughout October.
And, unless there is any unforeseen setback, everything suggests that Mbappe will be ready to start against the Yellow Submarine come Saturday.
Under scrutiny
The past few weeks have been nothing short of eventful for Mbappe, with his every action and movement under heavy scrutiny.
Playing for France, in Zinedine Zidane’s managerial debut, the 27-year-old superstar scored a goal before asking for a substitution due to a knee injury.
Having flown back to Madrid, he underwent tests, which confirmed the injury, although it was not as serious as was initially feared.
The forward then took week-long holiday with his partner that sparked some debate among supporters and attracted criticism from multiple quarters.
Mbappe returned to Madrid on Monday and participated in individual sessions at Valdebebas over the past couple of days. Now he has resumed normal training with his teammates.
There had been doubts over whether Mbappe would be able to face Villarreal after he picked up the injury on 25 September.
However, the recovery plan followed by the forward appears to have worked, and he is now expected to be in a fully fit condition for Saturday’s match.
