I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 905: Chapter 13: An Old Horse Aspires for a Thousand Miles

This El Clasico drew a lot of attention.

In the first half, people thought Barcelona was about to complete a five-time win over Real Madrid, and in the second half, when they saw Chen Zhong come on and help Real Madrid complete a comeback victory.

There was only one thought in people’s minds: ”That man is back!”

Chen Zhong has been in poor form this season, having scored only 1 goal so far, a performance that doesn’t even compare to when he first debuted.

But just when everyone thought Chen Zhong might have lost his touch.

He took only about 20-30 minutes to change everyone’s preconceived notions, once again defending the miracle he created, which is that Real Madrid wouldn’t lose to Barcelona when he plays.

After the match, Chen Zhong’s response during the interview was rapidly shared by many of his fans.

Chen Zhong renewed with Real Madrid to prepare for the North American World Cup, needing to play here and use the facilities to maintain good form, then attempt to challenge for the World Cup in his career.

But since the start of the new season, Chen Zhong hasn’t had many opportunities to play, and many are already discussing whether being at Real Madrid was a mistake.

He should go to the Saudi League.

There, he would definitely be treated as a core player and could reunite with his old teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, or even Serie A could work,

as De Bruyne and Modric have both gone to Serie A.

However, the notion quickly attracted many counterarguments after Chen Zhong led Real Madrid to defeat Barcelona, with some believing that Chen Zhong’s appearances would increase thereafter, but that wasn’t the case.

Chen Zhong continued to play the role of the main substitute, and his goal count and assists didn’t see much of an increase.

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Time quickly passed, and it was another round of the derby.

But this time it was a city derby.

Atletico Madrid has long ceased to be a small role; last season, even though they finished third, anyone could feel Atletico Madrid’s ambition.

And in this season’s summer window, Atletico Madrid made their move.

This time, Atletico Madrid splurged 50 million euros to sign La Liga’s assist king Baena! This 22-year-old midfielder directly contributed to 16 goals in just 32 league matches, with such precise footwork that he could take free kicks.

This transaction took Atletico Madrid and Villarreal three months to finalize, agreeing to a deal between 45-50 million euros, setting a club record for Atletico Madrid’s signings in the past five years.

Baena’s contract expires in 2028, but his annual salary is only 2 million euros, far below the standard for mainstream midfielders in Europe.

Add in the tight relations between Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, this summer Atletico bought Villarreal forward Sorloth for 30 million, and that guy directly contributed 7 goals and 5 assists, becoming Simeone’s secret weapon.

This time, Villarreal wised up and directly asked Atletico Madrid for 50 million, while also securing Las Palmas’ Alberto Moleiro and Atletico youth product Riquelme as backups.

Baena was a product of Villarreal’s youth academy.

He played his first La Liga match in 2020, and aside from a loan to Girona for development in the 2021-22 season, he has been a Villarreal starter. Last La Liga season he played 34 games, scored 2 goals, rampantly made 14 assists, and directly won the La Liga assist king title.

Even though Baena is only 1.75 meters tall, his footwork is top-notch. Cutting inside from the left flank, he can get past three defenders, and scoring directly from a free-kick is not uncommon.

In the season against Barcelona, from outside the box, he directly curled one into Ter Stegen’s goal, and even the Barcelona goalkeeper gave a thumbs-up after the match.

Griezmann is getting older and can’t keep up, and De Paul only plays the defensive midfielder position. The new signings can play left winger, attacking midfielder, shadow striker in multiple positions, just perfect for reinforcing Simeone’s headache on wing breakthroughs.

To fill Baena’s void, Villarreal has already locked onto two targets.

One is Las Palmas’ 23-year-old forward Moleiro, who scored 11 goals in La Liga last season, with outstanding heading capabilities; the other is Atletico’s youth product Riquelme, who had no chances at Atletico but can create 1.5 goals per game in the Segunda Division.

Villarreal’s sports director frankly stated, ”The money from selling Baena is enough for us to rebuild the midfield, and we’ll still be competing in European competitions next season.”

Baena is now already a popular figure in the Spain National Team.

He made his debut in September 2023, played 8 times for the national team within half a year and scored 2 goals. In this year’s European Cup final, he came on as a substitute for 20 minutes, and after the game, Enrique commented, ”He reminds me of a young Iniesta.” Even more impressively, he also won a gold medal with Spain at the Paris Olympics, and his status within the team is solidly in the top five.

Atletico Madrid’s fans were already going wild before Baena’s arrival, spreading the word that he could unlock new tactics.

Simeone used to rely on Griezmann to drop back and organize, but now with Baena as the left-side dynamo, easily breaking through and crossing from the wing, Morata can target in the center, Griezmann can fallback to support, and this combination can make opponents’ defense indefensible.

More crucially, Baena’s stamina reserves are astounding, playing full 90 minutes in consecutive preseason matches, and even Simeone said, ”He might be our most valuable signing in the winter window.”

Villarreal fans, however, aren’t too disheartened.