Real Madrid signed Aurelien Tchouameni for 80 million euros plus bonuses earlier in June, and I think this deal has the potential to be a really, really good signing. Tchouameni already has the skill to back up the price, and the fact that he is young and was wanted by so many other clubs makes it all the more special because this player wanted to play for Real Madrid, and it was his dream to do so, and he wanted this move at this age in spite of the competition he is going to face.
As you can see, I am a huge fan of this deal. I am very excited to watch Tchouameni play for Real Madrid. Most of the fans are.
But, it seems like there is one player that isn’t on board with the whole thing. According to Rodrigo Faez, Ceballos is “disappointed” after Tchouameni’s signing.
Dani Ceballos was never going to have a huge role at Real Madrid anyway
As we’ve seen with so many good players that join and leave Real Madrid, for most of them the reason for leaving isn’t because they think they’re not good enough, they leave because the timing doesn’t match.
Right now, Ceballos currently has six excellent players that he’d be competing with for minutes. All those six players are probably ahead of him in the rotation. Even if Tchouameni wasn’t signed, that would make it five players, and the one player Real wouldn’t have had a replacement for in the midfield was Casemiro, and Ceballos cannot play that role either way.
Tchouameni can play at multiple positions, but I think he is at his best at the six, and we’ve seen with Ceballos that he can’t play as a sole anchor; he was asked to do so sometimes at Arsenal, and it just didn’t work.
While I understand the disappointment that Ceballos is facing, I just don’t see him playing all that much with or without Tchouameni in the equation. Yes, he would’ve had more minutes next season, but those minutes still wouldn’t have been enough and he would’ve had to leave at some point, because the timing just wouldn’t have matched either way.
According to multiple reports, Ceballos might leave for a return to Betis, and I think that would be a fantastic move. Betis finished in the European spots last season, and Ceballos would definitely help them next season, if he does end up moving there. But, unfortunately for him and for myself – because I am a huge Ceballos fan – he won’t get the minutes he deserves at Real Madrid.