the journey of Daniel Ceballos at Real Madrid it may be reaching its last station. the utreran He will discuss a potential departure with the club this summer because his contract ends in 2023 and Madrid wants to get performance, at least economically, from a signing that has not been productive sportingly speaking for either party.
Ancelotti has also not responded to his promises that he made to him in the summer and later, even publicly. “Ceballos is going to be an important player in the second part of the season,” the Italian asserted back on January 22. Words that have gone with the wind. Since those statements by the transalpine, the midfielder has only seen 21 minutes of action. Madrid plans a series of signings, including one for midfieldplus the growth of Camavinga, which makes it impossible for Ceballos, who is only 25 years old, to have a constant presence.
The Andalusian, if he has shown anything, is that he is a footballer who goes from less to more, who needs minutes and confidence to reach his best version but his physique hardly gives him any respite. In his two years on loan at Arsenal he experienced two huge ups and downs, in the 2019-20 between November and February due to a serious injury and last year another physical problem took him out of the plans of his coach, who stopped counting on him, for two months. A sorrow that has not ceased.
The injury at the Tokyo Games last August has been a before and after in his career. A misdiagnosis in a serious ankle problem and therefore an erroneous treatment kept the Andalusian out of circulation for five months. This was one of the reasons why this season he has not been seen, adding all his participations, not even a complete game. Just 75 minutes. A pyrrhic figure that has led him to star in moments of frustration in the eyes of all, such as Alcoy. Last season, despite the fact that he entered more into Arteta’s plans at the end than at the beginning, at this point he had 1,726 minutes in his legs.
And the most significant thing: he is also present in the National Team, with the call-up in October 2020 for the matches against Portugal (he played 45′), Switzerland and Ukraine (another 45′). Now it has disappeared from Luis Enrique’s agenda. Not so with the different clubs that have been interested in his situation, especially Betis. His last chance to get hooked on the World Cup is to play… and neither Madrid nor Ancelotti can guarantee it.
Ceballos: “Since I left, I miss Betis”
This past Friday, Ceballos presented his Summer Campus in Seville and took the opportunity to comment on the current situation at Real Madrid and what he expects from the remaining two months of competition: “The coach has confidence in me, now is the time when he can bet on me, especially in this final stretch, which is where we are going to really play things. There are still games left and I hope to have minutes. It is true that in the League we are doing quite well, now in the Champions League we have a difficult rival like Chelsea, who last year already did us enough damage. But we are facing another team and they, a more prepared Real Madrid”.
He also commented on the option of playing for Betis in the future, something that, it seems, would not displease him at all: “My thing with Betis is a love story, I have always said that I owe him everything, I am eternally grateful for everything he did for me when it came to making me feel like a footballer. And ever since I left, I’ve missed him. Betis is a team where I have been very happy. But now I am very focused on these two months, which are very important for the end of the season.”
Such is his connection with Betis that, in fact, he will be present at the La Cartuja stadium on April 23 to cheer on the Sevillian team against Valencia in the Copa del Rey final. “It doesn’t make me healthy to see him in the Copa del Rey final, the other way around; I hope they win it, I’m going to be present, I’ve moved heaven and earth to be there with my family. Hopefully we can see Betis lift another Cup, after many years. Put on the Betis shirt? I have to respect Real Madrid, which is my club, I’ll be just another fan”, commented Ceballos.