Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has praised Saudi Arabia's hosting of the Spanish Super Cup, thousands of miles away from Spain, where few local fans could attend the match. He has also delayed talks over David Alaba's return after he was included in Real Madrid's squad for the competition.
Ancelotti believes this will allow fans in Saudi Arabia to show their love for the teams, although RCD Mallorca and Athletic Club are feeling less heat than elsewhere.
“Having competition here is good for Spanish football. First of all, for the teams that play here, because they have the opportunity to get the support of all the fans they have here,” he noted.
He was also asked about a statement he made two seasons ago about the attitude of his team, and one of their virtues was that they did not consider themselves the prettiest. Is that still the case?
“Sometimes it happens that we think we are the most beautiful. Not just the players, a little bit of everyone. The team has good dynamics. I think it's an important match. It's the first competition of the year. It has brought us a lot of motivation in the past, just like in 2022. We hope for this Super Cup to bring us motivation and commitment.”
Alaba made the Real Madrid squad for the first time in more than a year after recovering from multiple knee operations. After previously declaring their match against Las Palmas on January 19 as a possible return date.
“Alaba is very good, we are very close to seeing him… and tomorrow I don't know, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves.”
The registration, or lack of, of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor at Barcelona dominated the headlines in Spain this week, but Ancelotti refused to comment on the subject.
“I can only talk to you about the match between Barcelona and Athletic. I don't want to talk about the subject of Olmo and Pau Victor.
The Spanish Football Federation earns around €40 million a year from Spanish Super Cup matches, half of which is shared among the clubs, albeit unevenly and in favor of Barcelona and Real Madrid – both of which donated €200,000 of their €4 million-plus to RCD Mallorca brings their total to €1.2 million. The other half of the money goes to the Federation to finance basic football.
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