Real Madrid fans, for the last few months, have been venting about Lucas Vazquez to their family members. He has been an exceptional squad player for the last decade or so, but this season, everyone had to quickly realise that Vazquez simply cannot do the role Real Madrid want him to.
He was good enough to play a few games at right-back before this season, but now, he is considered a liability. Vazquez was never a full-back to begin with, but this season, it was more apparent than ever.
David Alaba has been struggling with injuries, and, frankly, form ever since he got an ACL injury in 2023. He came back towards the start of this year, and in just six months, Alaba has been injured three times.
He was recently recovering from his meniscus injury that he picked up a few weeks before the league season ended, and now, Real Madrid will have to pay hospital bills for another injury that Alaba has sustained.
At least Lucas Vazquez stayed fit when Real Madrid needed him
The club announced on Friday that Alaba is injured again, and according to Arancha Rodriguez, he will be out for another month.
Alaba has an injury in the soleus muscle of his left leg, which will keep him out for the next few weeks.
The Austrian was great for two seasons - at a stretch - but now, it seems like he is becoming a huge liability for the club, probably even bigger than Vazquez.
I'll explain why very quickly. Alaba makes so much more money than Vazquez. Alaba and Vazquez were both not good enough to start last season at their respective positions.
Vazquez, being the amazing squad player that he is, realised that and decided to depart the club without creating much fuss about it.
Even now, when asked about his future, he simply stalls the question so that the club can focus on the task at hand. He's leaving the club, and also is costing the club less money than Alaba.
It is clear that Vazquez was never a starting calibre player. Alaba was, but that is also what makes it worse for him.
Being at that level and dropping down so much, while making the same amount of money and getting injured far more - I think that is enough for Real Madrid fans to realise that we did not give Vazquez that much credit.