Real Madrid round-up: Mariano, Hermoso, Rodrygo, Bale...
In today's round-up: Mariano signing official, Hermoso could replace Vallejo, Rodrygo slams Conmebol, and Giggs on Bale.
Official: Mariano signs with Madrid
Mariano Díaz is once again a Real Madrid player after signing a new contract with his former club on Wednesday evening. With 23 goals in 41 games for Lyon last season, Mariano offers Julen Lopetegui extra stength in the centre forward position. The Dominican player left Madrid for Lyon in 2016 for €8 million, and now returns to the club for a fee believed to be in the region of €23 million.
Sevilla were also keen to sign him and were believed to have almost reached an agreement, but Madrid have come in at the last minute to excercise their right to buy him back.
Possible last minute moves: Hermoso in, Vallejo out
Madrid have reportedly lined up Espanyol’s Mario Hermoso as a replacement for Jesus Vallejo, who is expected to leave the club on loan. Hermoso, who played 11 seasons at the youth academy and was born in Madrid, has his buyout clause set at €40 million by Espanyol.
After graduating from the Madrid’s youth ranks, Hermoso spent a season on loan at Valladolid, before returning to play with Castilla in 2015-16. He was sold to Espanyol for €400,000 in 2017, but now Madrid could avail of the buy-back option stipulated in the original deal to purchase him for around €15 million – well below the value of his release clause.
Rodrygo slams Conmebol with some choice words
Santos player Rodrygo, the promising young talent that Madrid has already signed for next season but remains at the Brazilian club on loan, had some choice expletives to describe the South American football federation, Conmebol.
After his side were eliminated from the Copa Libertadores by Independiente, footage has emerged on social media of Rodrygo clearly saying “Conmebol, sons of b**ches” in Spanish, as he stared directly down the camera of a fan located close to pitch level (you can check out the footage below). The 17-year-old has since posted a message on Instagram saying that he regretted his outburst.
Giggs: Ronaldo’s exit will give Bale more mirror time
Madrid’s man of the moment, Gareth Bale has been called up by Wales boss Ryan Giggs for the upcoming Uefa Nations League games against Ireland and Denmark next week and will fly out to convene with his compatriots after the game against Leganés on Saturday.
Giggs recently gave an interview to BBC, saying he was confident that Bale could handle the spotlight at Madrid following Ronaldo’s exit. Giggs, also a former teammate of Ronaldo, was asked what it was like at Manchester United when the Portuguese star left in 2009: “You've got more chance of getting to the mirror, that was a lot easier when he left!,” he replied.