Real Madrid: the nine key men in 'Operation Camavinga'
The 17-year-old Franco-Angolan footballer from Stade Rennes in Ligue 1 is high on the list of the upcoming signings for Los Blancos.
The summer 2020 transfer market may have been significantly impacted by the pause to football due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn't removed the targets from the list inside Real Madrid. One of those, as we've previously reported, is the highly-rated youngster at Rennes, Edourdo Camavinga, and there are some important players off the field that can make it happen...
Camavinga to Madrid: the nine key men involved
François Pinault
Owner of Rennes FC, 37th on the Forbes list with the likes of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma and FNAC, among others on his books. He bought the club in 2008.
François-Henri Pinault
Son of the magnate. The father watches from a distance what his offspring is doing at Stade Rennes. He is married to Salma Hayek and the couple often feature in non-sporting French magazines.
Zinedine Zidane
The Real Madrid manager's friendship with François-Henri Pinault, the magnate's son, is crucial. They have participated together in several initiatives against ELA and have been seen sharing VIP boxes in various football stadiums.
Moussa Sissoko
He is not well known to the general public but he is one of the most influential agents in the French market. He has close ties with Rennes, from where he took Dembélé to Barcelona.
Juni Calafat
He is the man responsible for international football links at Real Madrid, and is closely linked to the Brazilian market. He has been adding more and more weight in all international signings, especially of young stars, and he initiated the contacts in this case.
Nicolas Holveck
Appointed club president on 18 March 2020 after previous roles as Vice President of Nancy and CEO of Monaco. He stepped into the Rennes sports city, the Piverdière, just a few days ago.
Florian Maurice
He recently arrived from Lyon, where he was chief scout, and takes up the position of sports director. He dealt with Real Madrid before when he signed Mariano Díaz in 2017 for eight million euros, only to sell him back for €33m shortly after.
Julien Stéphan
Rennes head coach. He had Camavinga in the youth team and gave him his debut in Ligue 1, making him the youngest player in the club's history to do so. He had not even turned 17 years old.
Mathieu Le Scornet
Stéphan's assistant. The one who 'discovered' Camavinga, he saw him play for the first time when he was just 10 years old and he immediately wanted to sign him. Then he was his coach on the Rennes U-13 team.