Real Madrid News
Real Madrid veteran comes out in defence of Vinicius Jr after Mallorca defeat
Real Madrid’s title hopes diminished when the reigning Spanish champions stumbled to a 1-0 defeat to RCD Mallorca, essentially giving Barcelona the opportunity to extend their lead to eight points when they meet Sevilla later this evening.
During the game, Vinicius Jr was once again in the thick of things – this time only for the wrong reasons. The Brazilian did not have a good game, but more importantly, he was the subject of rough treatment by the Mallorca defenders while the fans booed him whenever he touched the ball.
Moreover, Vinicius was involved in a bust-up with Mallorca captain Antonio Raillo, who asked the Brazilian to kiss the Mallorca shirt. It was a response aimed at the attacker after he was spotted kissing the Real Madrid logo in front of the Mallorca fans, just after half-time.
In the aftermath of all this, Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez spoke to the media, where he has come out in defence of the Brazilian, urging the media to leave him out of the spotlight.
“An environment is being created around him that doesn’t benefit anyone. Neither the player, nor the team. The fans mess with the kid and we have to put the controversies and nonsense aside because they don’t benefit anyone,” said Nacho (h/t Mundo Deportivo).
This is not the first time Vinicius has been a victim of rough treatment by fans and opposition defenders. The Real Madrid forward, after all, is the most fouled player in La Liga, who has also been a victim of racist slurs in the past this season.
Following the Mallorca game, it appears there is no end in sight for Vinicius and his altercations with the opposition players and fans.
The youngster, though, will be hoping to put all this behind him when Real Madrid travel to Morocco in midweek for the FIFA Club World Cup.
However, it must be noted that Vinicius has been ruled out of Real Madrid’s next game in La Liga against Elche, having picked up his fifth yellow card of this season during the clash against Mallorca.
Meanwhile, Nacho, who scored an own goal to hand Mallorca the win, also discussed what went wrong for Real Madrid in the game, saying:
“It was a complicated game, they defended and worked very well and we weren’t good enough to create chances. Their goal was just bad luck, just football, I touched it with my head and it went into the top corner.”
“It’s a shame because we’ve lost three points, we knew it would be a tight and complicated game because of the timing, because we didn’t have much time to rest… it’s a shame,” he added.
Real Madrid News
€40 million midfielder prefers a move to Real Madrid over Premier League clubs – report
The race for Jude Bellingham has become tightly contested in recent weeks. Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid all pursue the Borussia Dortmund star closely and hope to win his signing come June.
Given the heavy competition, it is natural that the clubs have alternative names on their tables. One such name on the radars of the aforementioned clubs is Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga.
The La Liga midfielder has offers from the Premier League for the summer. However, SER reports that the player has asked Real Madrid if they will match the offer from England and has displayed his interest in joining the club.
Veiga’s release clause with Celta Vigo is valued at €40 million. If the Merengues can match such a valuation, either through direct means or player exchanges, the young phenom will don white next season.
Real Madrid have followed Veiga’s profile for a while now and have made their interest in his signing known to his environment. Yet, the Spanish outlet also adds that Veiga’s potential arrival in June would not close the doors for Jude Bellingham’s signing.
Rafa Marin of Real Madrid Castilla is a player who interests Celta Vigo, and unsurprisingly is one of the names on Los Blancos’ table to utilise in a swap deal for Veiga. Yet, it is safe to say that talks of a player exchange are in a rudimentary stage.
The 20-year-old Spanish phenom has lit up La Liga this season. In 25 appearances for Celta Vigo this season, he has scored nine goals and provided three assists. He averages close to one key pass per game and has created five big chances in his league campaign.
With Los Blancos unwilling to let go of Bellingham’s pursuit irrespective of Veiga’s signing, the question will boil down to the financial leeway the Merengues have and whether they can afford to shell out €40 million in addition to the Englishman’s fee.
