Website logo

"I would sell Vinícius, trust Rodrygo, and bring in a central striker"

Alfonso Pérez is a former Real Madrid player. From 1986 to 1991, he played in the Royal club’s youth academy, and then for four years he represented the first team, making 88 appearances and scoring 13 goals. Later, he played for Betis, Barcelona, Marseille, and again for Betis. He earned 38 caps for the Spanish national team. He recently appeared as a guest of Josep Pedrerol in his show El Cafelito. Below are his remarks about Vinícius and Rodrygo Goes.

5 months ago

Madridazo logo

[After talking about Yamal] And Vinícius?
Pff... That’s a delicate topic. Vinícius doesn’t really convince me. Maybe someone will criticize me for this, but I would sell him. I would sell Vinícius and bring in a central striker. I think Real Madrid, above all, needs a central striker. I also believe that if you put your trust in Rodrygo, he can play at a very high level. What I especially don’t like about Vinícius is his behavior on the pitch. At Real Madrid, you can’t behave like that... I don’t know if anyone has told him that... Probably yes, but a player cannot gesture like that toward fans in stadiums. It’s not good — neither for him nor for Real Madrid. Of course, he has those physical attributes, speed, and power that allow him to get past opponents. But I’m sorry — I would sell him and bring in the central striker they’re missing. Someone would pay for Vinícius, I would move Mbappé to the left wing, where he’s always played, place Bellingham as an attacking midfielder in his zone, put Rodrygo on the right wing, and sign the best central striker.

Which one would that be?
I think right now, in terms of goals, it’s Haaland — but you could also bring someone else in. Real has an excellent sporting management team, scouts all over the world, but Real must also sign the very best. I believe Real needs a central striker. They attack a lot and dominate a lot, but sometimes you still need that finishing touch... Joselu showed that. When he came on, he scored goals.

He was that important.
No one talks about that. It bothers me, because when you support Real Madrid, you have to ask yourself: why doesn’t Real have a central striker? Like Benzema — he held the ball, created space, appeared at the near post, at the far post, linked up with players arriving from midfield... That’s what a central striker does. Right now they just pass and pass, but sometimes you say: damn, there’s no one in the box.

And Endrick?
They bought him, he’s been here for a while, but they don’t play him. Ancelotti didn’t trust him, and neither does Xabi.

Now he’s asked to leave.
That’s logical. Maybe he’s a great player, but not for Real Madrid.

And Gonzalo?
He’s a youth academy player, and he’s got more of that natural goal-scorer profile. That’s what Real needs, and he showed it at the Club World Cup. Well, if there’s no one else, he’ll play. When Real needs goals, the only player of that type is Gonzalo. That’s why I think he’ll get playing time.

Is Mbappé the best in the world?
I think so. Today, yes. He’s powerful, has great dribbling... He’s very fast and strong. On top of that, he’s confident and in excellent physical shape. He’ll be at Real for many years.