From Alfredo Di Stéfano to Hugo Sánchez to Raúl González. From Ronaldo to Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema. It seems there has always been a world-class scorer associated with Real Madrid throughout the club’s storied soccer history.
It may not be the case this season, though, as Madrid is about to begin the campaign without a high-profile striker in its squad. Benzema, the team’s best player the last few seasons and last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, made the lucrative move to Saudi Arabian soccer and the Spanish powerhouse has yet to replace him with someone of the same prominence. With less than a week before the season kicks off, Madrid’s squad included only four forwards, with only one true striker among them. Madrid has tried to sign Kylian Mbappé but has been unable to reach a deal for the France star. It may have to wait until his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends at the end of the season to be able to finally bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu. For now, Madrid has only signed Joselu on a loan from Espanyol. The 33-year-old striker blossomed late in his career but has been a regular with Spain’s national team. The hope is that he can team up well with Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, the young Brazilian duo that last season showed signs they can take on a greater role in attack. Vinícius’ season was marked by a series of racist insults against him by fans, which ultimately prompted an outpouring of support for the Brazilian from sports figures around the world. The insults against Vinícius spurred government officials into action to boost the fight against racism. The only other attacking-minded player currently available for Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is 24-year-old Brahim Díaz, who returned to the squad after a three-year loan with AC Milan. He is listed by Madrid as one of the squad’s forwards but has often played as an attacking midfielder.
In addition to Benzema, Madrid has also lost forwards Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Díaz. Neither of them played much last season but were options off the bench for Ancelotti.
