Real Madrid opens the door to selling its star player... and Paris is waiting in the wings

According to the Spanish newspaper *AS*, manager Álvaro Arbeloa has taken full responsibility for the defeat in Mallorca, saying: “This defeat is on my shoulders; I’m the one who makes the decisions, picks the team and makes the substitutions.”

However, the manager also criticised his players, saying: “What hurts me most is that we didn’t put in a better second-half performance.” He also made a clear, though unnamed, reference to one of the players, saying: “In a moment where we had the upper hand, a lapse cost us a goal. When you lose your mark and don’t track the player, you end up paying the price,” which observers saw as a direct attack on Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga.

Arbeloa’s comments came in response to Morlanes’ goal, which put them 1-0 ahead, a moment in which Camavinga looked poor, as the Mallorca player ran in unmarked from behind to capitalise on Mafio’s pass, whilst the French star trailed slowly behind him, prompting his teammate Rüdiger to reprimand him for a lack of intensity and concentration – a mistake that complicated matters for the Royal side.

In a related development, Arbeloa is awaiting Jude Bellingham’s return to full fitness, as a mistake by Camavinga marred what had initially been a decent performance; he was lively in the first 30 minutes, completing 43 out of 46 passes, winning back five balls and creating a chance, However, this mistake led to a drop in his performance, resulting in him being substituted in the manager’s first change, with Bellingham coming on in his place.

The substitution clearly indicates that Camavinga’s place in the starting line-up is now under serious threat following his performance at Son Moix.

As for the team selection, expectations were that Thiago Pitarch would be the one to make way, but Arbeloa opted to keep him on the bench in Mallorca so he would be ready for Tuesday’s clash with Bayern Munich, whilst the manager confirmed that Bellingham was not yet fully fit, saying: “It makes sense not to expect him to be at his peak when he has hardly played; the idea is for him to gradually get back into the rhythm of matches.”

The newspaper ‘AS’ revealed that Camavinga is now aware of his future situation, particularly with Real Madrid open to the idea of selling him and Paris Saint-Germain monitoring his situation ahead of next summer.

Read also: Madrid newspaper: Camavinga a disaster… and Díaz failed to follow Arbeloa’s instructions