Real Madrid News
Real Madrid refuse to send French key players to National Team duties
Euro 2024 will be a spectacle to behold. Hosted in Germany, the tournament will see some of Europe’s strongest sides fight it out for a shot at lifting the prestigious silverware.
The one-month-long tournament, however, is quickly succeeded by the Paris Olympics. The quadrennial event is not particularly considered a massive event for football, but it is a big deal for the French National Team as the games will be hosted in their capital.
Didier Deschamps calls up two players
The final international break of the season is just around the corner, and national teams are busy gearing up for what will be their final testing ground before the Euros.
French coach Didier Deschamps released his list of 23 players for the upcoming friendlies, and two Real Madrid sensations have been called up.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga have made the cut, while Ferland Mendy misses out.
Kylian Mbappe is unsurprisingly on the list as well, for the PSG star is France’s most potent attacking force in the final third.
France play Germany and Chile in the upcoming hiatus, and barring any surprises, the same squad could well roll over for the Euro 2024.
Real Madrid’s refusal to send their players
According to reports from L’Equipe, Real Madrid have officially written to the French Federation to inform them that they will not be releasing any of their players for the Olympics.
The Merengues’ decision is understandable since recovering from two consecutive international events could jeopardise the first six months of their players.
Moreover, the Olympics extends until mid-August, and the players would miss Real Madrid’s opening league games of the season if they were to participate in the Olympics.
“If we do not defend the health of our players, who will?” is the response from Real Madrid when quizzed over the same, as revealed by Julien Froment.
Considering the tight schedule around the year, they cannot be faulted for their stance.
Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Ferland Mendy will thus be unavailable to represent Les Blues in the quadrennial event.
More importantly, to-be Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe is also likely to be affected by this decision.
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.
