Mariano's departure from Real Madrid is going to be a problem until the last moment. They were the main sports media in Portugal, A Bola, O Jogo and Record, those who they reported almost simultaneously on Benfica's interest in signing the 27-year-old Hispanic forward. Cavani was asking for too much chip money and the madridista is a good alternative for the team led by Jorge Jesús. Madrid is determined to get rid of the footballer. But the operation seemed to go wrong at the last minute. O Jogo reported this, indicating that the high economic pretensions ofl forward, who wants to collect five million, made it very difficult for the transfer to take place.
The Portuguese media continue to report. And the turn of events is surprising. According to O Jogo himself, the footballer has been on the sidelines of the contacts between Benfica and Madrid, which would have agreed to a transfer with a purchase option of 20 million without having informed the player. That is what emerges from the statements of David Aranda, one of the forward's representatives, who also collects O Jogo: “There is nothing new in relation to the departure of Mariano from Madrid. Agreement? Nobody from Benfica has spoken with the player and me yet. If they want to continue with a negotiation, there has to be a conversation and that has not happened. If there is an agreement between the clubs, it seems very strange to me because that is not how a player is convinced to go to another club “ Said the businessman, who also showed his anger: “You don't usually do a business behind the back of someone you want to hire.”
Mariano was signed by Real Madrid for 22 million euros after the footballer had a great season at Lyon, 2017-18, in which he scored 21 goals in 44 games. He exercised the right of first refusal he had when Sevilla wanted to take him away, but had to give him a high chip: four million euros net. Since his return, Mariano has only played 26 games and scored five goals. And he has Jovic ahead. In any case, they point out from Portugal that the forward is actually happy with the possibility of going to Benfica and that it is only a matter of time before there is a definitive agreement.