Real Madrid: Hazard heads list of 29 players flying to Montreal
Zinedine Zidane has named a squad of 29 players to travel to Canada ahead of the pre-season fixtures, including new faces Hazard, Mendy, Jovic, Rodrygo and Kubo.
Real Madrid have made official the list of 29 players that Zinedine Zidane has summoned for the pre-season tour which begins with a training camp in Montreal on Wednesday.
Although only 27 players boarded the team flight that left Madrid’s Barajas airport this Tuesday afternoon, as Isco and Keylor Navas have been given permission to fly separately.
Navas, who has been enjoying vacation in his native Costa Rica, will meet up with the squad in Montreal, while Isco has been given a few more days to remain in Madrid as his wife is expecting to give birth to their second child very shortly.
All the new faces (Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Takefuso Kubo) boarded the Emirates flight, except Eder Militao, who, after winning the Copa América with Brazil last Sunday, is due to fly to Madrid, where he will be officially presented at the Bernabéu at lunchtime on Wednesday. The defender will then head off on vacation after a long season with Porto and Brazil.
Hazard, Kubo and Rodrygo
Of the new signings, Hazard will garner much of the spotlight over the next few days in Montreal, while Japanese starlet Kubo, who will play with Real Madrid Castilla next season, has been invited along by Zidane, as the French coach is eager to see the 18-year-old in action.
And he is not the only player to travel from Raul’s Castilla squad, so too do goalkeeper Diego Altube; defenders Adrián de la Fuente and Javi Hernández; and midfielders Alvaro Fidalgo and Jaime Seoane. At the moment, 18-year-old Rodrygo travels as a first-team player, but could pass yet to the ranks of Castilla, as his compatriot Vinicius did at the start of last season.
Gareth Bale
Also at the boarding gate was Gareth Bale, who travels with his future still up in the air. Zidane no longer sees the Welshman as part of his plans, although the player is determined to stay to convince the coach otherwise. And as no offers have come in for the ex-Tottenham striker, he will participate in the pre-season tour with the rest of his teammates.
Real Madrid’s U.S. tour fixtures
The squad is set to stay at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montreal and work every day at the training centre of MLS side, Montreal Impact, where the club were based back in the summer of 2016.
The pre-season U.S. tour fixtures will kick off on July 21 with the clash against Bayern Munich at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, followed by Arsenal on 24 July close to Washington D.C., and Atlético Madrid in Ney Jersey on 27 July.
Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid squad players
Goalkeepers: Courtois, Navas, Lunin, Altube
Defenders: Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Odriozola, Mendy, De la Fuente, Javi Hernández
Central Midfielders: Kroos, Modric, Isco, Seoane, Fidalgo
Forwards: Mariano, Benzema, Bale, Lucas V., Asensio, Brahim, Vinicius Jr., Hazard, Jovic, Rodrygo, Kubo