Real Madrid News
Real Madrid set to drop interest in 30-year-old La Liga star – report
Andriy Lunin was said to be on his way out of Real Madrid not very long ago. However, a turn of events now renders his continuity more probable, at least until his contract runs out in 2024.
The Ukrainian international’s inclination to stay, needless to say, changes a lot in Real Madrid’s plans on the transfer window. According to reports from MARCA, Los Blancos are now definitely out of the race to sign Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Los Blancos saw the 30-year-old Spanish veteran as the ideal profile to serve as a backup for Thibaut Courtois. After all, Soria has built a strong reputation with years of experience under his belt.
However, with the goalkeeping position in safe hands for the time being, the 2022/23 Copa del Rey winners have dropped their interest in the Spanish ace.
After all, the deal was far from being close to materialising. Real Madrid were unable to meet Getafe’s demand of a €10 million fee, and the player himself had doubts about leaving his position as a starter for a bench role.
In the recently concluded La Liga season, Soria played 90 minutes in all 38 of his team’s games. With four penalty saves and 13 clean sheets, he was a critical part of Getafe’s race to escape relegation. To go from such prominence to the shadows on the sidelines was unsurprisingly a difficult choice.
Lunin has served as an able second over the past year, and Los Blancos would not be opposed to renewing his deal when it runs out next summer. The ball lies in the youngster’s court, and it is possible that he chooses a new club with regular minutes as a free agent.
Real Madrid News
Mbappe hits out at claims on his unhappiness at Real Madrid: ‘Angry at my great aunt too’
Kylian Mbappe has been in the news for a plethora of reasons in recent weeks, starting with his injury and surprise vacation. Beyond that, the Ballon d’Or saga has kept him in the spotlight for a reasonable while now.
The Frenchman, after all, has not held back in speaking out about why he deserves to win the prestigious individual award, and while it is perfectly okay to campaign for the award, it is something that has not usually been done in the past.
In terms of his goalscoring numbers, there is no doubt that Mbappe should be a frontrunner for the award. His lack of a single trophy for both club and country, however, works against his chances.
Mbappe’s sarcastic reply to baseless rumours
Earlier today, there were reports of Kylian Mbappe being angry with Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid for not campaigning for him to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
The rumours, needless to say, portrayed the player in a very bad light and made it seem like the club not making public gestures to acknowledge and back his campaign affected him personally.
Now, the player has himself come out to lash out at the journalists, albeit in a sarcastic manner. Commenting directly below the post making the claim via Fabrizio Romano, the player wrote,
“Yes, yes, I even got angry with my great aunt too.”
Mbappe’s ability to deal with such reports with a tinge of humour, needless to say, is impressive and it can only be good for his image that he spoke out and cut off the news at its roots.
Set to return
There has been significant concern around Mbappe’s fitness in recent weeks after the player left the French national team with an injury after their first game.
The initial diagnosis appeared worrying, but it soon came to light that the player had avoided a major setback by a hair’s breadth.
Now, there is increasing hope that the Frenchman will be back for Real Madrid’s first game after the break against Villarreal, possibly even as a starter.
Needless to say, that comes as a massive positive for Jose Mourinho’s plans ahead of a crucial stretch of the season.
