Around the Bernabeu: Pre-season looms as exits continue at Real Madrid
By Hasan Karim
In the latest edition of Around the Bernabeu, we look ahead to pre-season and all the surrounding stories as rumours of future signings and exits continue to circulate.
Real Madrid aim for a further €200m in sales
Real Madrid have been on a mass clear-out operation this summer. With the club having already made big additions this summer with the likes of Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic coming in, the Spanish giants have also had to clear out to make room for the new additions. So far there has been numerous sales as Theo Hernandez, Marcos Llorente, Raul De Tomas and Mateo Kovacic have all left permanently, alongside them, Martin Ødegaard, Sergio Reguilon and Luca Zidane have all departed on loan.
Despite having already cleared out a number of players, the Real Madrid garage sale is not over. According to MARCA, Florentino Perez has decided that a further six players can depart should the right offer arrive. Those on the chopping block include: James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vasquez, Keylor Navas and Mariano Diaz.
Should the sales go as planned, Real will then turn their attention to Zinedine Zidane’s apparent number one demand, Paul Pogba. Currently, the club are unable to pursue the player until more money is made available, however, with Pogba and his agent making their intentions for an exit from Manchester United clear, it seems inevitable that Real will get the job done in order to get the signing over the line.
🇧🇷 💬 A message from @MarceloM12!
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) July 10, 2019
“Hey, madridistas! We’re in Montreal for our first training session of the pre-season and we’re going to give it everything. See you later!”#RMTour | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/Bbbu8a8jS2
Preseason officially begins
Real Madrid officially touched down in Montreal today ahead of their pre-season tour. Majority of the squad travelled aside from those who competed in summer competitions (Dani Ceballos, Casemiro and Eder Militao) as well as Isco, who is expecting the birth of his second child.
Real’s tour begins with a clash against Bayern Munich before they then compete against Arsenal and Atletico Madrid to round out their tour of the U.S. The team will then compete in the Audi Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur at the Allianz Arena in Germany.
With the new additions on the team, it will be exciting to see how they fit in as well as how the seasoned stars who struggled last season regain their form.