Ancelotti admits: “Real Madrid signed Benzema’s replacement”
Carlo Ancelotti spoke briefly to the media in Los Angeles ahead of Real Madrid’s first training session at the UCLA facilities
What distinguishes living a tour like this with Real Madrid?
“We have always felt good here. It’s a beautiful place, we can train really well, we have competitive matches where you can see how the team is. We have to prove something these days. All players are back in good shape. We are confident and excited because we are going to start the season well.”
Are you happy with the team you have or do you expect more players to arrive?
“Very happy with what arrived. They will help us and bring quality to the team. Fran Garcia will cover the left back very well, as we had problems last year; Joselo can give us more in the air games in the area. Guler is very talented, he is very young, and I think the fans will enjoy this player.”
“Bellingham has a great interior with qualities we don’t have in a team, and he has good access to the area without the ball. The team has been improved. I want to try something new based on that principle, see how it goes, and if it doesn’t work, we always have the old system that gave us so much success in the past.”
– If Real Madrid offered you to renew, would you renew?
“I am in no hurry to renew, because I have a contract. Total confidence in the club. Let’s see what happens this season. I think the season will end well, we are very confident because the team has improved, even though we lost a key player like Karim [Benzema], a legend of the club. We have a very young group and we are convinced that it will give us a lot of happiness.”
What is the significance of the tour?
“We have new players. We must quickly adapt them to our style and philosophy. It’s an important moment of the season and we’ll spend it in good weather, with good weather and always with a crowd.”
– Kylian Mbappe.. Do you have hope?
I have never spoken about players who are not in Madrid. I can talk about a large number of our new players: Bellingham, Fran Garcia, Arda Guler. So is Brahim, who has come back very well from his experience in Milan. It is a stronger and more complete player. I can also talk about how Modric, Vinicius or Rodrygo will come back. Talking about who is not here does not feel right to me.”
What are the team’s goals for this season?
“(Smiles) Champions, LaLiga, Copa del Rey, Super Cup… As usual, nothing has changed.”
Can Real Madrid compete for all those goals with just one striker in the squad?
Yes Yes. Because it is true that we have always had cream, although it was not a pure “nine”, but the system can be adapted to the characteristics of the players present. A player has arrived who can contribute a lot offensively, like Bellingham.
– We heard that Mbappe could arrive, but who is the natural replacement for Benzema?
We already have.
Joselo?
It could be Joselo or we could play with another system.
Source: AS
