Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.
Just whne you thought things were set to quieten down in Spain, with La Liga underway, it’s been a chaotic 24 hours for the big two.
Real Madrid goalkeeper, and for some their most decisive player, Thibaut Courtois left training on a stretcher and in tears on Thursday. Shortly after the diagnosis would be confirmed that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament, and he will now undergo surgery in the coming days.
Carlo Ancelotti was keen to say he was confident in back-up Andriy Lunin, but it seems clear they will bring in a replacement, with Courtois likely to miss most of the season. They have already started talks with Yassine Bounou, after Ancelotti ruled out David de Gea.
For the Italian, he will now have to approach the season without the basis of their Champions League success two summers ago – Courtois and Karim Benzema.
Carlo Ancelotti wants a new goalkeeper doesn't he? pic.twitter.com/7inS2cTaEi
— Football España (@footballespana_) August 11, 2023
Not to be outdone, in a remarkable turn of events, Barcelona are thought to be very close to the return of Neymar Junior. The deal will depend on a variety of factors noted in the article, but both in Spain and Brazil, there seems to be more and more reports that it will happen.
This comes immediately after they sealed a deal to sell 29.5% of a subsidiary they had already sold in order to register players, with €120m coming in. This should help them to register the 10 players who are currently ineligible to play. The bigger news is that Barcelona’s content creation business will be going on the American stock market, which could see Barcelona lose out on significant earnings.
There has been plenty of business going on across the league this week, with the big kick-off this weekend. Atletico Madrid also made the headlines, as they signed a sponsorship agreement with an airline that does not have any planes.
Riyadh Air, set up by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, were only formed in March, and are looking to run their first flights in 2025, but have committed to a deal worth €40m per year to feature on the front of Atleti’s shirts.
