Real Madrid are hoping the heat of the fixture will prepare them for a successful defense of the Spanish title as the season begins in La Liga this weekend, despite some lucrative moves in the transfer market from Barcelona.
Madrid gets the ball rolling against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday as they target another trophy-filled campaign under Carlo Ancelotti after their league and Champions League double last season.
There have been no dramatic changes at the Santiago Bernabeu, and there is no sign of a superstar signing the attack after Kylian Mbappe turned him down in favor of a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain.
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Yet there have been no significant departures, with the influence of Gareth Bale, Isco and Marcelo all declining dramatically before being released.
This means that Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, who will turn 37 in September, will be extremely influential.
Ancelotti can also expect the influence of the likes of Vinicius – whose goal won May’s Champions League final against Liverpool – Rodrigo and Eduardo Camavinga to extend this season.
And two important signs have arrived.
France midfielder Aurelian Tchoumeni, 22, has joined Monaco for a fee of up to 100 million euros ($102m), while Germany centre-back Antonio Rudiger, 29, joins Chelsea for free.
“I believe we have two players who are the best in the world in their roles,” Ancelotti told UEFA.com.
“His quality enhances the physical and technical ability of the team.”
– Barca fight to enter signing –
Real were the champions by 13 points from Barcelona, and it would have been more if the Catalans had not improved much in the second half of last season.
Xavi Hernandez has already made a big impact as coach at Camp Nou and a slew of new recruits led by Robert Lewandowski could help him bridge the gap to his bitter rivals.
Leeds United winger Rafinha and AC Milan midfielder Frank Casey have also joined in, while the signing of Jules Kaunde and Andreas Christensen should improve the defense significantly.
The problem is that, as of earlier this week, Barca still had not been able to register their new recruits because they had not raised enough funds to comply with spending restrictions imposed by La Liga on the club.
This is despite Barcelona’s board selling assets, including 25 percent of the club’s digital business and Barca studios that manage audiovisual productions, to Socios.com for €100 million.
Twenty-five percent of his domestic television rights for a quarter century have been sold to the American investment fund Sixth Street for 400 million euros.
Those deals are on top of a sponsorship deal with Spotify, and on Tuesday it was reported in Spain that Barcelona would sell another 25 percent to Barca studios to an investment fund for 100 million euros in a bid to satisfy La Liga. Will give
The club is also pressuring midfielder Frankie de Jong to leave to settle his salary.
There may be concerns about the long-term consequences of these deals for the club with alleged debt of 1.3 billion euros, but they could also be a real force to be reckoned with if they can register new recruits.
“We have raised a lot of hope,” he said. We have high hopes too,” admitted Xavi. “Our aim this year is to win the title and play good football.”
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– Can anyone else compete? ,
If Barcelona can’t close Real’s gap as it seems no one else can, Atletico Madrid don’t look much stronger than they were last year, when they finished third.
Luis Suárez has returned to his native Uruguay and Antoine Griezmann’s form is uncertain, although Axel Vitsel strengthened his midfield and Argentine international Nahuel Molina added quality to the right-back.
On top of that, they still have Diego Simeone.
Sevilla came fourth last season, earning Champions League qualification at the expense of city rivals Real Betis, who won the Copa del Rey.
While Sevilla have signed Isco, they have lost two excellent centre-backs, with Kaunde departing and Diego Carlos moving to Aston Villa.
It was notable that the latter preferred to join a mid-table Premier League club rather than stay and play in the Champions League.
It shows the pulling power of English football, while last season’s top scorer Goncalo Guedes of Valencia went to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Saudi-owned Almeria is back in La Liga after seven years, with Real Valladolid and Girona as other newly-promoted teams.
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