Zinedine Zidane Reveals Why Real Madrid Have Completed Summer Deals Early

Zinedine Zidane has revealed he wanted to get Real Madrid’s summer transfer business done quickly as they look to close the gap on La Liga champions and bitter rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid have completed five high profile signings already this summer, including Belgium star Eden Hazard, striker Luka Jovic and most recently Ferland Mendy from Lyon. Despite having broken their summer spending record, they continue to be linked high profile players.

Zidane acknowledged in an interview with the executive chairman of the International Champions Cup competition and published by ?Marca that having his signings available for pre-season is what the club had planned for.

The Frenchman said: “We are going to have all types of players, from the new signings to the players that are already on the team to the young players who can support and add a lot to a team in pre-season.

“[To have our signings available for the entire pre-season] is our plan and what we want. That is why we already bought players, so that they are ready with us and prepared.

“As you know, the pre-season for a player is very important. The important thing is that they are with us from day one.

“They will have played games with their national teams, but will have around one month of vacation and they will be with us.”

Los Blancos are confirmed to face Bayern Munich, Arsenal, ?Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in pre-season and Zidane has eluded to the importance of the Madrid derby and is very much relishing the game, despite the timing of it. 

He added: “It is a very nice game for all the fans, especially in New York,” Zidane said. “For the clubs, it is important because we want to give the fans a good image of Madrid.

“We are going to try to have a great game and show how good the two teams are. I have a lot of respect for Simeone as I do for all managers.

“He has been training for a long time and works very well with his coaching staff. He has a good team and is part of a big club. He does a great job and I respect him a lot.” 

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