La Liga’s big three have been busy in pre-season, on and off the pitch, with transfer business continuing at pace and warm-up matches going to plan.
Real Madrid and Atletico both had friendly wins over European heavyweights over the weekend, while rumours have emerged that Barcelona may be preparing a move to bring former talisman Lionel Messi back to the Camp Nou.
Following the arrival of Robert Lewandowski in Catalonia, an agreement with Messi, possibly for the 2023/24 campaign, would be the biggest La Liga 2022 news of the summer and it will be fascinating to see if that story has legs. In the meantime the Madrid clubs continue their preparation for the 2022/23 campaign and the signs are good on both sides of the city.
Los Blancos see off the Old Lady
The La Liga 2022 betting odds here at SBOTOP have pitched Real Madrid and Barcelona as joint-favourites for the title and Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti has been pleased with his team’s gradual progress in pre-season. They lost the El Clasico match to a Raphinha goal and then drew with Club America, but on Saturday, Madrid beat Serie A giants Juventus with a clinical display at both ends of the pitch.
Main man Karim Benzema gave Ancelotti’s side an early lead at the Rose Bowl in California, converting a 19th-minute penalty with his customary ruthlessness, before Marco Asensio doubled the lead midway through the second half.
Los Blancos dominated for long periods and were only threatened when Leonardo Bonucci’s free-kick hit the crossbar, and the boss was happy with his day’s work, saying: We’ve finished this first stage of the season well with a good performance, showing improvement on the previous game. The team is used to playing with the guys who have played in the past. We’ve trained well and we’ve got minutes in the players’ legs, it’s all gone really well.”
The next big test for Real Madrid; it’s the European Super Cup clash with Europa League winner Eintracht Frankfurt.
Meanwhile, third favorites for the 2022/23 La Liga title, Atletico Madrid, put in a superb Diego Simeone-style performance to beat Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United in Oslo. Los Rojiblancos soaked up a lot of pressure and then hit the Red Devils with a sucker punch, seven minutes from time as second-half substitute Joao Felix drilled home a low drive.
One interesting subplot was that Cristiano Ronaldo was absent after being linked with a move to Atletico Madrid in the media. Simeone insists his business for the summer is complete and the array of talent he brought on in the second half against Manchester United, including Felix, Koke, Rodrigo de Paul and Antoine Griezmann shows he already has some real depth in his squad.
Ronaldo is due to play in the Red Devils’ Sunday clash against Rayo Vallecano.
Barca’s squad chaos continues…
The financial situation at the Camp Nou is complex, to say the least, with the incoming of Lewy from Bayern, the never-ending saga of Frenkie de Jong’s future, another marquee signing in Raphinha and the constant need to balance the books.
So, wait for it…news from the Barca camp has emerged that Barca head coach Xavi would dearly love to bring his former team-mate Messi back to the club. Word is it that Xavi is seriously considering a move for the Argentine star in 2023 when his contract expires, but that has set pulses racing in the French capital.
Officials at Paris Saint-Germain have contacted Messi to try to extend his contract at the Parc des Princes. They know that the spat between Kylian Mbappe and Messi’s mate Neymar has increased tension, and that could make their position more difficult.
Back in Barcelona two exits are looking likely from the Camp Nou, the first being striker Martin Braithwaite who looks like he may be on the way to Saudi Arabia. The Danish international preferred to stay near Madrid with a move to Rayo Vallecano or Getafe mooted, but a chance to play in Saudi might turn his head.
22-year-old midfielder Riqui Puig has failed to nail down a place in the Barca team and was not on the pre-season tour. There were suggestions that he might be sold, but the latest thinking at Barca is to loan him out and see how he develops.
And then there is De Jong.
The Dutch midfielder got his first start for the Blaugrana on their pre-season tour of America, in a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls. Manchester United have agreed to pay 75m Euros for De Jong but he is still not keen to go to Old Trafford, preferring to stay and fight for his place in Catalonia.
It may be that he wants repayment of the 17m Euros owed in deferred wages, and Barca need him to go so that they can register new players; but they have so far offered just half of the owed money.
It’s a weird situation for sure!
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