Real Madrid sold their third-string back-up striker Mariano Diaz to Ligue 1 club Lyon this summer. Mariano is excelling at Lyon, but Real Madrid may not have any say over his future.
Real Madrid offloaded Mariano this summer for the cost of €8 million to French side Lyon. Last season, Real Madrid’s roster was bursting at the seems with excess attacking talent. When a player the quality of James Rodriguez is consistently stuck sitting on the bench, you know Real Madrid may have had too much attacking depth.
But Real Madrid typically don’t like selling away promising attacking talent without some possibility that they may one day get their player back. Take, for example, Alvaro Morata, who Madrid sold to Juventus with a buy-back clause, only to purchase him back after he had a chance to develop.
The question of whether Madrid can get Mariano back has become more pressing of late. First of all, Real Madrid are having a really difficult time scoring goals.
xG map for Real Madrid - Tottenham. Undermanned Spurs worked like crazy, but in a game where Benzema finishes chances, it's not the story. pic.twitter.com/SJR2ybyh0o
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) October 17, 2017
Benzema’s profligacy in front of goal has been a growing topic of concern for pundits and fans alike. Real Madrid are creating plenty of chances, but they just don’t seem to be converting them.
With Madrid struggling to score goals, Mariano’s recent red-hot form for Lyon is making many Madrid fans experience seller’s remorse. Mariano has scored six times in eight Ligue 1 appearances. With Madrid’s goal scorers faltering in the first part of the season, Los Blancos sure could use someone like Mariano to contribute a few more goals when the rest of the team seems unable to find one.
Unfortunately, Real Madrid may not get the opportunity to buy him back. There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the possibility of a buy-back clause for Mariano. When asked by Onda Cero and Radio MARCA whether his contract contained a buy-back clause, Mariano emphasized that he was unaware whether any such clause existed.
However, the higher-ups at Olympique Lyon recently released an official statement declaring that Mariano Diaz’ contract does not include a buy-back clause. That’s bad news for Madrid. While Real certainly have the money to be able to buy Mariano back if push comes to shove, not putting a buy-back clause in his contract makes it easier for other teams to scoop Mariano up, and makes it harder for Madrid to control the price inflation were they to seek a return for Mariano.
It’s great to see Mariano doing so well at his new club. But it hurts a little bit to know that he could have been doing that in the Royal Whites.
Next: Oh Marco, where art thou? On Asensio's dip in form.