The Copa del Rey won against Osasuna in Seville was the most fleeting celebration on record at Real Madrid. The team celebrated on the lawn of La Cartuja with their supporters and around one in the morning they arrived at the concentration hotel, where a frugal dinner awaited them. Contrary to what is usual in their travels, Madrid slept in the city where they played the game and early this morning took a plane to return to Madrid and do recovery training at two in the afternoon. On Tuesday, Manchester City visits the Bernabéu in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.
The cup final, the twentieth that the Whites have won, left Ancelotti's team with an extreme dose of fatigue but did not add any injuries. Dani Ceballos, who was injured the day before with a muscular overload, points to a definitive loss against City. The good news is that Ferland Mendy, the only long-term injured player, did part of the training with the group, but he is still not expected for the appointment against Guardiola's team.
In the locker room there is concern about the physical condition of a good part of the players. The feeling is that "the fuel is running out", say team sources who also highlight Madrid's reliability in the Champions League and that "with only two games to go in the grand final we will have our options". As Madrid feared, Osasuna knew how to take the Cup final to a physical plane almost to the limit that forced the whites to wear and tear that does not bode well against City.
Florentino Pérez himself, who rarely makes statements, made them after the final in Seville to criticize the time and date of the Cup final. "Now to rest, because they don't give us time, it's the truth. I don't know who puts the calendar, but they should make them look at it.”
The vehemence with which the president of the white club ensured the continuity of Carlo Ancelotti on the team's bench next season was also surprising. In fact, until yesterday, the club's media leaked that despite the year signed there were doubts, but Pérez wanted to settle them: “To say that Ancelotti may not continue is speculation that we have never entered. And neither did he. So I don't want to talk about that topic because it doesn't exist. He has a contract for one more season and we are delighted with him”.
The final also did not clear up the question about the future of several of the players whose contract ends on June 30. In the case of Benzema, Kroos and Modric, everything seems to indicate that there is an agreement and that the three will continue, extending the last two for one season. The French is not clear whether one or two. Of the three, he only spoke about the Croatian's future: "The idea is to continue in Madrid... We'll see what happens," he said.
But doubts persist with Nacho, Ceballos and Asensio. The three are evaluating the club's offer, which does not seem to convince them at all. Nacho and Asensio spoke in the mixed zone of La Cartuja. Nacho commented: "I'm still in contact with the club. I want everything important for the season to happen and then, we'll see." The Spaniard came to say more or less the same thing. short "I don't know".
And the one who has no intention of leaving is Eden Hazard, the highest salary in the squad, with fifteen million a year and who no longer counts for anything for Ancelotti: “I can play more in the remainder of the season. I want to complete the year that I have left, ”he said. The Belgian has become a nightmare for Madrid.
