“Zidane loved me; that's why the club wanted to get Jovic out”

The Spanish Borja Mayoral assured this Wednesday, in his official presentation with Roma, that the French coach of Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, asked him to stay in the Madrid team during the preseason, but stressed that his priority was to leave the club to “have more opportunities” to play.

“When I arrived at the preseason with Madrid, I was going to leave the club quickly, but Zidane wanted me to stay, I told him that he had to leave to have more opportunities. I think the club listened to Zidane and that's why they wanted to take out (the Serbian, Luka) Jovic “Mayoral assured in his presentation press conference, organized at the Trigoria sports center.

“Everything was done very late, but in the end I called his (Zidane's) office again and told him if he could let me out.. I thought I would have more opportunities to play and grow with my football. In the end it was done, I'm here and this is the most important thing, “he added.

Mayoral, a striker trained in the Real Madrid quarry that won the 2018 Champions League and the Club World Cup with the first Madrid team, joined Roma on 2 October on loan for two years with a purchase option in favor of the team romanista (15 million in 2021 and 20 million in 2022).

“When the summer started, my representative told me that Roma was very interested. He caught my attention and made me very happy,” said Mayoral, who considered “important” the call received by the Romanist CEO, Guido Fienga.

“For me it is a point of arrival, I have been here for ten days, I am super happy with the club, I feel at home and I have only been here for ten days. Yes it is true that I only have two years on loan, but I consider myself more from Roma than from Madrid because Roma have the option to buy me. For me it is a point of arrival “, Mayoral stressed.

The forward from Parla, who always had the Frenchman Karim Benzema as an idol, defined himself as a forward “who comes hungry”, eager to succeed after having spent several years gaining experience in the First Division, with Levante.

“I can score goals, play well inside the area, but I can also help outside the area, I can make the players who play around me better. For me that is a modern player.”, he claimed.

He also made it clear that he does not feel like a substitute for Bosnian Edin Dzeko, leader of the Romanist forward.

“I don't consider myself a replacement for Dzeko, he is a forward and I am another forward. I come with enthusiasm, with great enthusiasm to make Roma great, achieve great things, help the team, just like Dzeko. I'm going to learn from him, he's going to help me, “he said.