Real Madrid will unveil summer signing Mariano on Thursday afternoon after he completed his return to the club from Lyon.
As per the club’s official announcement, the 25-year-old has signed a five-year agreement to join Julen Lopetegui’s side as the Spanish tactician has bolstered his attacking options for the season ahead.
Mariano left the Bernabeu in 2017, scoring 21 goals in 45 appearances for Lyon last year. That was seemingly enough to convince the club to bring him back, as he’ll look to play a key role for Lopetegui perhaps as an alternative to Karim Benzema up front.
Further, as per the club’s post, Mariano will be presented at 1.30pm (CEST), at the stadium, where he will undoubtedly be emotional on his return to the club as he’ll hope to prove his worth and stay for the foreseeable future this time round.
According to AS, he will join in a deal worth around €23m, and so it remains to be seen whether or not it turns out to be an astute addition from the reigning European champions as they look to put the pieces in place to ensure Lopetegui is able to sustain their success in recent years.
Having lost Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this summer, there has been a void in that area of the squad that needed to be addressed. While it isn’t the marquee name that supporters were perhaps hoping for, time will tell if Mariano fits his role.
Lopetegui of course also has Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco and Marco Asensio all set to step up and take on more responsibility without Ronaldo, and so he’ll undoubtedly be hoping that he’s found the right balance in his squad.