Real Madrid News
Real Madrid sign Cristiano Ronaldo’s son for the youth academy – report
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United ended on a disappointing note when the club terminated his contract at the end of this year, following a bust-up between the player and the club management.
Currently a free agent, Cristiano is expected to move to Saudi Arabia in a bumper contract. But while the Portuguese international looks set to start a new adventure in the Middle East, it appears Real Madrid have taken advantage of his situation to snap up the services of his son.
Cristiano Jr. is indeed one of the most sought-after youngsters in the Under-14 department. Through his youth career so far, the 12-year-old has largely played for the clubs his father has represented, including Real Madrid and Juventus.
Currently, he is part of Manchester United’s U-12 setup, but with his father moving to Saudi Arabia, very few expect Cristiano Jr. to remain at the club.
According to Edu Cornago, Real Madrid have incorporated the youngster into its youth academy. The 12-year-old sensation had played for the club’s youth academy in the past, and has a record of scoring 50 goals in 20 appearances for the U-14 setup.
Cristiano Jr’s potential return to the Real Madrid youth setup could serve as a major boost for the club that have already produced some exciting talents in recent years. Although very few of them have gone on to make an impression in the first-team, the Real Madrid coaches may certain try their luck with Ronaldo’s son.
However, as things stand, the deal is not final yet and as we near the end of the year, it will be interesting to see if there other suitors pop up for Cristiano Jr.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid match the goalscoring pace of record-breaking 2011/12 season under Mourinho
Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid have made a solid start to the 2026/27 season but are not yet an infallible machine.
At times they overwhelm opponents and score goals for fun, while at others they take their foot off the accelerator.
Against Rayo Vallecano, for example, they produced 45 outstanding minutes before spending another 25 under greater pressure and with less intensity.
Setting good pace
Their latest victory this past weekend against Rayo took their tally to 16 goals in six matches across all competitions – a figure reached only three times in the past decade, as highlighted by AS.
The last team to better it was the 2016/17 side, who had scored 17 at the same stage.
More remarkably, the last time Real Madrid started a season with a similar scoring rate at home was 2011/12 – during Mourinho’s first tenure at the club. That team had scored 15 goals in their opening six home games.
That was the famous record-breaking La Liga season, which ended with Real Madrid collecting 100 points and scoring 121 goals.
The current side are matching that pace, although Mourinho knows that an impressive start means little unless it ends with silverware. Even so, the early results are stronger than those recorded by that historic team.
The 2011/12 campaign began with a draw against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, followed by a 1-0 defeat to Levante.
This time, Real Madrid have five wins from six, with their only setback coming against Real Betis, where they lost 1-0.
That defeat owed much to the heroics of goalkeeper Alvaro Valles and the Merengues’ failure to take their chances, particularly Kylian Mbappe’s late penalty, which could have rescued a point.
Real Madrid are leaving goals on the table
However, what cannot be ignored is the fact that Real Madrid have not been effective enough in finding the back of the net.
Real Madrid produced 3.16 xG against Real Betis but failed to score, while their overall xG figures show just how many opportunities they have been wasting.
According to data provided by BeSoccer Pro to AS, Real Madrid have the worst xG balance in La Liga by some distance.
They have scored 14 league goals but, based on the quality of their chances, should have scored another 5.92.
In other words, Real Madrid could already be approaching 20 league goals if their finishing had matched the chances they have created.
The comparison with Barcelona is particularly striking. Hansi Flick’s side have scored 21 goals from 96 shots, including 42 on target, while Mourinho’s team have needed 104 shots and 46 efforts on target to score seven fewer goals.
That represents a conversion rate of 13.5% for Real Madrid compared with 21.9% for the Blaugrana.
Mourinho refuses to make a problem of the misses
For Mourinho, however, the figures are more encouraging than concerning.
“We’re scoring a lot, but we’re also missing so many chances,” he said after the 4-1 win over Rayo.
“I told my people that one day a team will pay for all those missed chances. One day we’re going to score six or seven.”
The Portuguese sees the finishing problems as temporary rather than something that needs to become a major concern.
As per the report, his message is simple: more composure, more patience and more calm in front of goal.
Frank
December 28, 2022 at 7:30 pm
The way to go 🏃🏃