There is Asensio case. The Spaniard is one of the Real Madrid footballers whose contract ends on June 30 and negotiations for his renewal have not yet started. A few months ago, the player summoned the club to present him with a renewal offer, but Madrid gave him up.
Asensio hasn't played in the last two games, which is all the more surprising given the team's lack of goals, having only scored once in their last three games. He started in the League against Atlético, but did not play anything in the Cup against Barcelona or on Sunday in Seville against Betis, although he warmed up on the band for more than half an hour. In the end, Ancelotti preferred youth squad player Álvaro Rodríguez. At Anfield he only played three minutes.
The player, who turned 27 in January, was close to leaving Real Madrid last summer. In April of last year, Asensio hired the well-known Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes to find him a team. Mendes presented several offers, but none convinced Madrid and the player chose not to force his departure, according to the strategy that it was better to go free in the summer of 2023. In Madrid they suspect that Mendes has been able to offer his client to Barcelona. In fact, Asensio was already very close to being a Barça player when he stood out at Mallorca, but Madrid anticipated it and took the player by paying in cash. Florentino Pérez signed him in December 2014 (at the age of 18) for 3.7 million, which has been a bargain as the market stands.
Asensio celebrates in this his seventh season in Madrid. He has won everything (three champions and three leagues, among other titles), but he has never been able to establish himself as a regular starter, always being used more as a revulsion. In June 2019, he tore the cruciate ligament and the outer meniscus in a pre-season friendly against Arsenal, a very serious injury that slowed down and marked his career.
Ancelotti values Asensio above all his striking the ball. He is the second player in the squad who hits him the hardest (after Valverde). However, the Italian has never defended the continuity of the Spaniard in the squad, as he has constantly done in public with other more veteran players, such as Modric, Kroos or Benzema.
Ancelotti's most surprising statements about Asensio came on February 15, after beating Elche 4-0 at the Bernabéu, with the Balearic Islands' first goal. After saying that for him "Modric was untouchable", asked about Asensio, he said: "I see him well. I don't know if he will stay or not. It may be that he stays or not. I don't care much. The important thing is that he is contributing, like last year. Let it continue like this, and the club will make the most appropriate decision".
Asensio's numbers this season at Madrid are in the average of his previous seasons. He has played 1,144 minutes spread over 31 games; of them, 18 in the league, but only in seven has he started, which speaks of his little weight in the team. He has scored six goals and given three assists.
Asensio lavishes very little on statements. Last summer, when asked directly if he was interested in going to Barcelona, he responded with "all I think about is Real Madrid. I'm happy here, but in the future you never know what can happen." In Madrid he has always been a Guadiana player.
