“Preparing for the match Elche: Especially on a mental level, we have to push it a little more. It is normal to have maximum concentration in high-level matches and it is more difficult after a match that has cost you both physically and mentally. We take that into account, knowing that we play tomorrow with the same three points we won on Sunday”
Courtois: “It won’t be for tomorrow. He is training normally and doing well”
Golden Ball ceremony: “We are all very proud of what Karim has achieved, as well as Tibout, who stayed close, like Modric, Vinicius and
We are very proud. From there, we congratulate all those who won, Jaffe Lewandowski and Mane…also Manchester City, the club we respect so much and who had a great season”
If you expected it to be like this last year: “No, I didn’t think so. What we have achieved so far has been very good. Like I said, the fact of working at this club means it can happen to you. There is everything you need to be successful: the history, the traditions, the competition, the quality of the players, the atmosphere… But at the start of last season I had much more doubts than now”
Iker Bravo: “He is doing really well with Castilla. We needed him today for training but tomorrow he will not travel with us, and he will stay with Castilla”
Mbappe: “I don’t know what the future is. I don’t know what could happen. The future of this club and this team is already written; I already said it last year. We have young players like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Camavinga, Chuamini, Valverde, Militao… They have already written the future of this team. The players change, for sure next year’s team will not be like this one, but these players have already designed the future of Real Madrid”
Vinicius, eighth at the Ballon d’Or: “I think so, that’s fair, because that allows him to try to improve on what he did last year, as it was almost everything new for everyone to see with such continuity and quality. It will motivate you to do better”
Benzema, Ballon d’Or: “We are very happy. We feel a little less. He said he was very proud of this award and he also thanked all his teammates because that’s what it is, an individual award thank you. With the help of a team. We all congratulated him. It’s done, and we have to think about the next group, and he can start tomorrow, put some pieces in it”
Benzema has improved between his two phases with him: “He definitely has more responsibility and feels more like a leader in this team than he did eight years ago. Technically it has not changed much, and the quality is the same. What has changed is his responsibility and his attitude towards the team, being more than a leader”
City, ahead of Real Madrid in the Ballon d’Or: “I don’t know what the criteria are. I think they don’t talk about the teams, because the best was Real Madrid, who won the Champions League. At the club level I don’t. I don’t know the criteria. It was very difficult to beat them in the semi-finals, it was because of the lack of details, and they won the Premier League. We have the utmost respect for this award, we got the biggest award in May”
Players friend: “The personal relationship is very important. Professionally, in my opinion, you can get 100% of a footballer, with character you can get more”
He was told that Real Madrid was Cholista: “It’s a compliment. I saw Atlético against Athletic and it was a very interesting match. After the match I heard Simeone say he moved, and I agree with him. If they say Real Madrid is Colista, it’s a compliment”
Courtois, seventh in the Ballon d’Or: “Of course, the striker who scores the goals shows, a pivotal role … I’ve never been in the top positions in this award. Thinking of a goalkeeper, like Thibaut, is a good thing that didn’t surprise me. We are very happy for Karim and Thibaut … What surprised me are the players who did not even reach their thirties, such as Kroos, Valverde, Militao, Alaba … Someone might think that I have conflicting interests and that’s right, I have that”
