Real Madrid have finally ended their pursuit of a new striker, but they pulled off a Barcelona-like move while doing so.
The Spanish giants have agreed terms with Olympique Lyon to have Mariano Díaz re-joining the team this summer following last year's transfer. Mariano had left Los Blancos to enjoy some more playing time, and he put his time to good use by scoring 21 goals in all comps for the French side. Real Madrid included a clause in the player's contract that allowed them to have the first option to sign Mariano if Lyon wanted to sell him, which has been the case.
Nevertheless, this move has raised some eyebrows among Sevilla's execs, who were looking forward to signing the Spanish ace. Speaking at a press conference, Sevilla president Jose Castro revealed that Real Madrid DID tell them about that clause in his contract, while adding their intent to exercise that clause in due time.
"Real Madrid had that option and they informed us they would trigger that clause. Nevertheless, the player never told us about it. That seems to be a bit strange, since he told us over and over that he wanted to play for us. We understand that this is the way football works," Castro stated.
This will be Mariano's second season with Real Madrid's senior squad. After rising through Los Blancos' youth categories, Mariano played 14 games and scored five goals for the Spanish giants in the 2016-17 season, but chose to join Olympique Lyon the year after. There, Mariano scored 21 goals in 45 games, while also becoming one of Ligue 1's most dangerous strikers.
