Picture credit: X/@realmadrid
Monday, June 9, was Xabi Alonso’s first day at Real Madrid, and he asserted his authority by arriving at the club’s facilities an impressive three hours earlier than the schedule, reports Sergio Lopez in a report for AS.
Such was the eagerness in the former midfielder that he arrived earlier than most of the club’s employees.
Interestingly, the Real Madrid players, who were available for training, were not called until 10 AM, which is why Alonso spent much of his time settling into the club’s facilities and calling together his staff, which included his fitness trainer, the technical assistant and the assistant coach.
A tactical meeting
The outlet mentions that there was a tactical meeting between the aforementioned personnel, which ‘lasted for hours’. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss different approaches and what to focus on.
As reported before, it is very much likely that Alonso will not just force his Bayer Leverkusen tactics on this Real Madrid roster. Rather, he will assess the players he has and will then make a detailed plan based on that.
Xabi Alonso began his Real Madrid tenure from Monday. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
As far as the training is concerned, the new manager only had five first-team players available, namely, Lucas Vazquez, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Dani Ceballos and Rodrygo.
What about the rest?
On the other hand, the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Federico Valverde and Brahim Diaz did very specific exercises.
Coming back to the training, the publication mentions that the first session under the Spanish coach had a lot of intensity, so much so that the squad felt ‘strength and enthusiasm’.
Now, with the first session done, Real Madrid will begin to welcome the usual suspects, including their new signings Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Spanish defender will be there from tomorrow, while the Englishman will arrive on Wednesday.
Apart from Andriy Lunin, Vinicius Jr. and Arda Guler, all the other internationals will start reporting for club duty from tomorrow onwards.
Real Madrid imminent new arrival hailed as ‘one of the most important talents to emerge in 20-30 years in Argentina’
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
It has been the Arda Guler saga all over again for Real Madrid and Franco Mastantuono this summer as Los Blancos once again turned up at the last moment to lure the player away after he had an agreement with another club.
Unlike Guler who was close to Barcelona, Mastantuono was inching closer to signing for PSG when Real Madrid stepped in and took control. They now have an agreement in place and the deal appears to be all but official.
In the young midfielder, the men in white have secured arguably the biggest young talent in world football and a player who is seen to be the next big thing.
His release clause stands at €45 million and Real Madrid are willing to fork out that sum but the deal has hit a small hurdle in recent hours after it came to light that the actual fee could soar much higher.
River Plate president speaks
Speaking to the media earlier today, River Plate president Jorge Brito was asked to speak about the talented midfielder’s rumoured departure and whether it was indeed happening.
Set to join Real Madrid soon. (Photo by Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images)
“Mastantuono’s departure? If the player wants to leave, let him leave, and whoever wants him has to pay the release clause in his contract,” he said, revealing that the door was indeed open to Mastantuono’s departure.
He then went on to reveal that the club would do no favours to any team looking to buy the youngster and that paying his release clause was the only feasible means through which the operation could go through.
“There’s no room for negotiation about that [Paying the release clause].”
Staying on the topic of the Argentine attacking midfielder, the club president made a massive claim about his talent and endless potential that has been hyped a lot in recent years.
“Mastantuono is one of the most important talents to emerge in the last 20 to 30 years in Argentina.”