Real Madrid suffer a double summer setback

Robin Bairner

28 Jul 2021 12:34 BST
3 min read

Real Madrid new signing David Alaba with president Florentino Perez — © ProShots

Real Madrid’s summer has been a difficult one, with Sergio Ramos leaving for Paris Saint-Germain and Raphael Varane set to depart for Manchester United.

Article continues under the video

Of course, David Alaba has been captured but the prospect of another major signing looks scant.

Tight finances mean that Madrid have been severely limited in the transfer market and will likely be until the end of the window.

Indeed, Cadena SER reports that they have given up on the prospect of signing Kylian Mbappe from PSG due to a lack of finances.

This is not entirely surprising, with Madrid holding out for the striker to reject terms from the Ligue 1 side and arrive instead on a free transfer next summer.

If that news is a long-term setback for the plans of head coach Carlo Ancelotti, he also has a more short-term issue to content with as he continues to build his squad towards the new season.

Real Madrid’s Alaba blow

Real Madrid have confirmed that new signing David Alaba has tested positive for Covid-19.

In a statement, the club said: “Real Madrid C. F. confirm that our player David Alaba has tested positive for COVID-19.”

Alaba will, therefore, have to self-isolate.

Madrid have not indicated the Austria international defender’s health condition, but even if he is currently asymptomatic, it is a headache they could well do without at this juncture of the summer.

Alaba, who did not feature in the 2-1 loss to Rangers last weekend, could be forced to spend the next week working individually and will, therefore, be short of match sharpness ahead of a friendly against Milan on 8 August.

His time with the squad will be very limited before the season opener against Alaves on 14 August.

With the departures of Varane and Ramos, Alaba is likely to be a lynchpin of the Real Madrid, defence and they need him to hit the ground running as smoothly as possible. This is an unwelcome setback as such.