In the absence of ten days for Real Madrid to start its preseason (the squad is scheduled for medical tests in Valdebebas on July 8), the white club continues with the exit operation stuck and without defining the future of players like Marco Asensio, Dani Ceballos, Luka Jovic, Jesús Vallejo or Mariano.
The only thing that Real Madrid has managed to do is dismiss the three players who finished their contract on June 30 and did not fit into Carlo Ancelotti's plans: Bale, Isco and Marcelo. The lack of definition also reaches those on loan who return, cases of Odriozola, Borja Mayoral, Reinier and Take Kubo and it is only known that Brahim will continue another season at AC Milan because his loan contract was for two years.
In the discharge chapter and after the fiasco of Kylian Mbappé not coming, Madrid has presented two players: the central Antonio Rüdiger, 29, who arrives from Chelsea with the letter of freedom, and the French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, 22 years old, bought from Monaco for 80 million fixed plus another twenty million in variables.
If Madrid manages to get rid of Luka Jovic and Mariano, as is their intention, the club indicates the intention of going for a striker who can give Karim Benzema breaks. The other option would be to stay with Borja Mayoral or promote Juanmi Latasa, 21, Castilla's center forward, to the first team.
The most tricky cases right now are those of Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos. The Balearic Islands have one more season left on their contract and Madrid still do not know what the player prefers: hurry up the year and become a free agent, renew (he asks for an amount that Madrid does not give him) or look for an exit this summer. Carlo Ancelotti is there because he stays but the club would not look badly on giving him a release if the offer that arrives is very high, something that does not seem very likely right now, although the player has a market, especially in England and Italy. Jorge Mendes, Asensio's agent, is looking for potential buyers. The case is not expected to be cleared until well into August.
The situation is similar with Dani Ceballos, who also ends his relationship with the whites on June 30, 2023. In this case, the footballer seems inclined to leave for Betis right away, but the Verdiblanco club's offer is three million, an amount for the one that does not let Madrid go. It doesn't seem easy for Betis to raise his bid.
The only footballer who is sure to leave the white discipline is the Serbian striker Luka Jovic, 24 years old. The agreement with Fiorentina seems close and only the form of payment remains to be negotiated. Jovic's situation will be clear at the beginning of July.-
Much more complicated is the case of Mariano Diaz, the striker who has spent three seasons hardly playing anything at Real Madrid. Already 28 years old, the Catalan has an offer from the Turkish Fenerbahce, who already wanted him last summer. The player's agent, David Aranda, maintains that Mariano is tired of not playing and that he wants out. However, at the moment of truth, nobody pays the 4.5 million that the striker receives per season and Mariano, who does not accept a salary reduction, could stay one more season at the Bernabeu, the last of his contract. Here everything depends on Fenerbahce raising its offer and satisfying the player's economic aspirations.
The situation with Jesús Vallejo is also not clear. In this case, the Aragonese has two years left on his contract and he is only 25 years old. The defender has already communicated that he wants to stay (he played the last games of last season and performed well) but the arrival of Rüdiger relegates him to being the fifth centre-back. Madrid is about to find him a transfer.
Regarding those on loan who return, everything indicates that Álvaro Odriozola (he was at Fiorentina) could rejoin the team with Ancelotti. Kubo is very close to a transfer to Real Sociedad. Reinier is looking for a team, preferably in Spain after the fiasco of his two years at Borussia Dortmund. As for Borja Mayoral, everything will depend on what happens with Jovic and Mariano. But even if the two leave, it is not even clear that he will stay.
Real Madrid begins its preseason on July 8 in Valdebebas. Right away he goes to the United States, where he will play three friendlies in what is known as the Soccer Champions Tour 2022: on July 23 in Las Vegas, against Barcelona; on July 26 against América de México in San Francisco and on July 30 in Los Angeles against Juventus. His first official match will be the European Super Cup, on August 10 in Helsinki against Eintracht Frankfurt. And his debut in the League will be on August 13 or 14 at the Juegos Mediterráneos stadium against the recently promoted Almería.
