Real Madrid brutally lost to PSG in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on Wednesday, and everyone who watched the game would know that it was PSG being kind.
Real Madrid, even though they have improved in many ways in the last few weeks, are still a long way off of the place they want to be at in terms of winning.
They were bossed around by PSG, and every single player in blue had a brilliant performance against the one in whites.
One of them, Achraf Hakimi, has worn both kits in his career so far, and after the match, he was asked about how a player as good as he is would ever want to leave a club as big as Real Madrid.
It was a mistake by Real Madrid to let Achraf Hakimi leave
His reply was over in a few seconds. It was simple, and it made absolute sense in that timespan. He simply said: "It was their decision. Not mine.”
Real Madrid made a mistake. They may not have known it at the time of his departure, but it was clear that he had all the talent in the world, and could easily become a first-team player for Real Madrid.
However, things changed, and Real Madrid went a separate way. The opportunity presented itself again in 2021 when Inter wanted to sign him after his loan spell at Dortmund was spelt a success. They could have kept him around, but they saw the big bucks and let him leave.
Now, Real Madrid have two world-class right-backs in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal. Both of them are still really good, but Hakimi would have been great, too. If he was at the club, Trent would not join, and you could say he has a better two-way presence than the Englishman, too.
I am really happy with Trent, but it would've been nice to see one of Real Madrid's own succeed another one of Real Madrid's own at right-back, but hey, it's not the end of the world.
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