Real Madrid travel to Malaga for the last match of the La Liga season. Madrid need just a point to secure the La Liga title. But first, they must get past a number of former Madrid players who will be looking to spoil the party.
There are a lot of narratives surrounding the final match of Real Madrid’s season. The fates of these two clubs are intimately entangled.
As I’ve already written, Malaga will earn 1 million euros if Madrid do end up winning the league, due to a bonus in Isco’s contract. Additionally, one of Malaga’s best players, Diego Llorente, is a Madrid loanee who will not be allowed to play due to a non-compete clause in his loan agreement.
However, the connections between the clubs don’t end there.
As ESPN FC reports, Real Madrid will also have to deal with the “Michel effect”; Malaga’s new coach,Michel Gonzalez, is a former Real Madrid star. The squad which contained Michel in the 1980’s was dominant in La Liga, and Michel was a crucial part of that team.
Michel has come out and said that he is a Madridista for life, but that he is also a consummate professional who would never put his old club loyalties over his current duties as Malaga’s coach:
"I must respect the values I was taught at Madrid, to respect the competition and set out to win every game. My players would not let me look the other way that week. I would prefer if it was all over before the final weekend — better to welcome the champions than to knock your old team — but I am a professional."
Michel’s Madrid loyalties, the financial incentive Malaga have to hand Madrid the title, and the anti-Barca comments made by the Malaga club president, have made for the perfect storm of a Barca media blitz calling Madrid’s league title into question before they’ve even placed hands on the trophy.
Michel isn’t the only former Real Madrid player who stands in the way of Madrid’s title ambitions.
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As Marca report, four other former Real Madrid players may feature for Malaga. These players include: Miguel Torres, Luis Hernández, Juankar, and José Rodríguez.
Miguel Torres is the most storied Madrid player on that list, playing 70 first team matches with Madrid and claiming the La Liga title in 2007-08.
Of these players, Juankar is the most likely to feature. He has made 28 appearances for his side, 23 of those coming as a starter. The rest of the former Madrid players are more bit players in the squad.
Will Madrid’s past come back to haunt them?
Zidane will hope that he can put these ghosts to bed to reclaim Madrid’s first La Liga title since 2012.