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REAL MADRID

Mariano gives Julen Lopetegui a 'yes' over the phone

The manager called Mariano and explained what he wants from him and asked of his intentions with Sevilla close to signing the player.

Julen Lopetegui.
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Julen Lopetegui has spoken to Mariano to ask of his willingness to join Real Madrid after the club decided to exercise their buy-back option on the player who was on the brink of signing with Sevilla.

The Real Madrid manager called the player to find out of his intentions and to explain what he expects of him. In principle, he won't be coming back to Real Madrid to start but will play as a back-up to Karim Benzema and will be ahead of Borja Mayoral, if he doesn't leave before the transfer market closes.

After the conversation, in which the player gave his answer, which was positive, Lopetegui acted to make the move official and he could be presented as soon as Wednesday.

Mariano, who is 25, was born in Barcelona and he came up through Badalona's youth ranks before arriving in Madrid to play with los Blancos' juvenil side in 2012. He played with Real Madrid C and Castilla He played 14 times in his last season under Zinedine Zidane before moving to Lyon where he has played three times this season but has not scored. Last season, however, he landed 21 goals.