Real Madrid were interested in signing me in the summer - Celta Vigo's Iago Aspas

Published on: 08 November 2018

Raf Honigstein believes UEFA need to take action after Sergio Ramos elbowed an opponent and drew blood in Real Madrid's win over Viktoria Plzen.

Steve Nicol comes to the defence of oft-criticised Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, asking where his high-profile teammates have gone.

Santiago Solari's first La Liga match in charge as caretaker manager of Real Madrid ended with a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid.

Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas has said that Real Madrid were keen to sign him last summer before choosing to re-sign Mariano.

Aspas has been La Liga's highest-scoring Spaniard for the last two years, and was reportedly a target for Real Madrid earlier this year.

The Spain international has now said that the European champions, who face Celta Vigo on Sunday, did hold an interest in him, though they did not make a formal approach.

"They didn't contact me directly but it's true that there was an interest," Aspas said. "They signed Mariano to fill the void of a No. 9."

Transfers

    Revealed: How FIFA wants to fix transfers

    ESPN's Gabriele Marcotti obtained a FIFA report revealing the biggest overhaul to the transfer system in decades. Are they finally serious about cleaning up football?

    How a transfer works

    With help from former Tottenham and Liverpool director of football, Damien Comolli, we show you how a transfer works through Iain Macintosh's tale of fictional rising star Dave Thumper.

    FC Exclusives
    - Milan want United defender Bailly - United set to veto Jose targets - Sterling agrees new contract at City - Keita's brother training at Liverpool

Madrid, who sold their all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for €100 million in July, chose to bring Mariano back after the striker spent a season at Lyon, with teenager Vinicius Jr. also joining up with the first team.

Aspas said Madrid "have the best players in the world" but that they have not recovered from the departure of Ronaldo to Juve.

"Cristiano Ronaldo added a lot of goals and covered Real Madrid's weaknesses," he said.

Aspas had disappointing spells earlier in his career at Liverpool and Sevilla before returning in 2015 to Celta, where he has flourished.

The 31-year-old has scored eight goals in 11 league starts for Celta so far this season, and when asked about his future, said he was happy at the club but did not rule out a move away.

"I always said that in football you never know what can happen but I have a four-year contract with Celta and I'm very happy here," Aspas said.

Source: espn.co.uk

Comments