Real Madrid's French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga struggled to impress in yesterday's friendly with Fiorentina, a 2-2 draw in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt, despite starting and playing all 90 minutes under Portuguese coach José Mourinho.
The Spanish media rounded on the 23-year-old. Radio station "Cadena SER" branded him "the weakest link at Real Madrid", while AS journalist Tomás Roncero went even further, judging that Camavinga "remains inconsistent, distracted and fragile as he was during his disappointing last season". He added sarcastically: "The multi-talented French player, who was a rising star, has become a complete failure".
Full 90 minutes and one assist aside, the former Rennes man failed to seize on the absence of several key stars to genuinely shape the game or take a grip of the midfield.
He even passed up a golden chance to hand new striker Espay his first goal for the club, as he "either did not see him or did not want to pass the ball to him" in a clear situation, according to Marca, which reckoned Mourinho would now settle for using him off the bench in the coming matches.
Roncero vented his frustration at the drop-off in the player's level. "He is not developing and is not adding anything to the team's midfield," he said, pointing to the stalling of his technical growth despite his years at the Madrid club.
Saturday's flat showing continues a slide that began in a dismal 2025-2026 campaign, one that saw him left out of Didier Deschamps' France squad for the World Cup. Doubts now hang over whether he can rediscover the form that once marked him out as one of Europe's most exciting young talents.
Against that backdrop, some in the Spanish press hinted that "a good offer from the English Premier League may signal the time for his departure" from the Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid's midfield is packed with stars, and the club could use a financial return on players who have not kicked on as hoped.