Losing Marco Asensio to injury, potentially for the entire season, is a serious blow for Real Madrid. The Spaniard had started to cement his place in the team, as an attacking midfielder, in the last two seasons.
Madrid will sell Bale at the right price
Asensio’s absence won’t change the club’s willingness to sell Gareth Bale. Recent comments from Zinedine Zidane confirm Madrid are simply waiting for a decent offer from another club before they offload the Welshman.
With his exit almost confirmed, Bale still played in Madrid’s last friendly and scored a goal to prove how professional he is even when he’s about to say goodbye to the club. I appreciate his qualities and doubt Bale is looking to leave the club. But Madrid seem to think differently and Bale just needs to keep doing his job before his future is decided.
Hazard will be ready when Real season begins
Eden Hazard has been criticised for his physical condition in preseason but in a few weeks he will be in much better shape and ready to play a big part in the start of Madrid’s La Liga campaign.
In training he will evolve and recover from the holidays. For a player, it’s important to do that carefully, pace yourself and don’t 100% now – even if it is tempting when you arrive at a new club – or he could get injured by giving too much before he’s ready.
There are many important things to come and he must keep gaining rhythm and confidence. I believe that all staff and managers are seeing this as a natural process that will end up contributing to Hazard being in his best form when things start for real.
Barca will find their rhythm
It’s still too early to get worried about a Barcelona defeat to Chelsea in a friendly match. After all, it’s normal to see big clubs losing matches in preseason as their main focus is on gaining rhythm and bedding in new players.
Of course, it’s always better winning than losing any game, but losses aren’t important in preseason, because the results have no bearing on what happens in the season.
Tours are bad for players but beneficial for clubs
It’s never easy for players having to make long trips on tours to Asia or America in the pre-season. It will fatigue them, but it is beneficial for clubs to raise money and sponsorship.
Players must be aware that is also thanks to these kinds of tours that the clubs generate enough money to pay them, so most will understand that the club must use their own brands and also players’ images to generate revenues.
There is no other reason for these tours besides money. Travelling overseas in preseason is bad for players and means you lose time of preparation. It’s good for fans in Asia, though, as most have never seen their heroes in the flesh. Clubs take advantage of that to generate some income that could be used during the season.
Source: Betfair Spanish La Liga
