Posted in: 10/08/2022 – 10:46
Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid hopes that the stable summer that he experienced will allow him to start his campaign to defend his title successfully, with the start of the new season of the Spanish League in football this weekend, despite Barcelona’s efforts to return strongly with remarkable transfer deals.
The royal club begins its new football career on Wednesday against Eintracht Frankfurt in the European Super Cup, with the goal of a season full of titles under the leadership of Italian Carlo Ancelotti, after the double of the League and the Champions League last season.
The Santiago Bernabéu did not witness drastic changes, and there were no hints of the possibility of signing a big star to strengthen the attack, after the Frenchman, Kylian Mbappe, refused the Madrid offer and his decision to renew his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.
On the other hand, there were no major departures either, especially with the influence of the Welshman Gareth Bale, Isco and the Brazilian Marcelo significantly diminished before their departure.
This means that the French Karim Benzema and the Croatian Luka Modric, who celebrates his thirty-seventh birthday next September, will continue to enjoy great influence.
Ancelotti can also expect to increase the influence of players such as Brazilian Vinicius, whose decisive goal was to win the Champions League against Liverpool last May, as well as his compatriot Rodrygo and fellow Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga.
It is true that no big stars have arrived in Madrid, but the “Merenghi” completed two important transfer deals: French midfielder Aurelien Chuamini (22 years) from Monaco for a fee of 100 million euros ($102 million), and German defender Antonio Rudiger ( 29-year-old) on a free transfer deal from Chelsea.
“I think we have two of the best players in the world in their positions,” Anceloni told UEFA. “Their quality increases the physical and technical ability of the team.”
Barcelona’s battle to score contracts
Real Madrid were crowned Spanish champions by 13 points from Barcelona, and the difference could have been greater if the Catalan team had not shown a noticeable improvement in the second half of last season.
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Xavi Hernandez has already made a huge impact as a coach at Camp Nou, and a host of new signings, led by Polish star Robert Lewandowski, can help him bridge the gap with his arch-rivals.
The Leeds United winger also joined the Brazilian Rafinha and Ivory Coast Franck Kissier from AC Milan, while it seems that the defense will improve greatly by signing French Jules Conde and Denmark’s Andreas Christensen.
The problem, however, is that by the start of this week, Barcelona were unable to register their new players because they had not raised enough money to comply with the spending limits that La Liga had imposed on the club.
This comes despite Barcelona’s board of directors selling assets, including a 25 percent stake in Barca Studios, which manages the club’s digital trading and audiovisual production, to Socios.com for 100 million euros.
The Catalan club also sold 25 percent of the league’s television broadcasting rights to the American investment fund “Sixth Street” over the next 25 years, in exchange for 400 million euros.
These agreements come in addition to the sponsorship agreement with “Spotify”, as reports in Spain indicated on Tuesday that Barcelona will sell another 25 percent of “Barca Studios” to an investment fund in exchange for 100 million euros, in an attempt to satisfy the League.
The Catalan club is putting pressure on its Dutch international midfielder Francke de Jong to leave in order to save his salary.
There may be concerns about the long-term consequences of these deals for a club with a reported debt of 1.3 billion euros, but if he can sign up for new players, he could also be a real force to be reckoned with.
Xavi admitted, “We have generated a lot of optimistic anticipation. We have high hopes as well. Our goal this year is to win titles and play good football.”
Any other competitors?
If Barcelona can’t close the gap against Real, it’s unlikely that any other team can, as Atletico Madrid doesn’t look much stronger than last year when they finished third.
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Luis Soares returned to his native Uruguay, and the level of Frenchman Antoine Griezmann was not convincing, although Belgian Axel Witsel strengthened the midfield, and Argentine international Nahuel Molina Gouda will add at right-back.
Furthermore, they still have Argentine coach Diego Simeone.
On the other hand, Seville finished last season in fourth place and qualified for the Champions League at the expense of rivals Real Betis, who won the Spanish Cup.
While Sevilla signed Isco, they lost two prominent defenders with the departure of Conde to Barcelona, and the Brazilian Diego Carlos to the English Aston Villa. It was noticeable that the latter preferred to join a mid-level club in the “Premier League” instead of staying and playing in the Champions League.
This reflects the power of attraction for English football, similar to the transfer of Portuguese striker Aunsalo Guedic, Valencia’s top scorer last season, to Wolverhampton.
It is worth noting that the new season will witness the return of Saudi-owned Almeria to the top flight after seven years, accompanied by Valladolid and Girona.
© 2022 AFP