The Belgian Football Association have commented on reports linking national team manager Roberto Martinez with a move to Real Madrid by informing the Spanish giants that they’d need to pay compensation if they’re to lure him to the Bernabeu.
Real are on the look-out for a new manager with Julen Lopetegui shown the door on Monday, after just four and a half months in charge.
Ex-player Santiago Solari, coach of B team Castilla, has ‘provisionally replaced’ Lopetegui for the time being, but it seems Real are on the look-out for a manager to take on the role on a full-time basis.
Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had been heavily tipped to take charge, but reports have suggested that a number of Real Madrid’s players were not happy with the idea of that appointment.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez, who of course originates from Spain, has been mentioned as a potential option for Los Blancos in recent days. Martinez lead his star-studded side to a third placed finish at the World Cup in the summer.
However, the Belgian FA have responded strongly to suggestions that the 45-year-old could be set for the top job at the Bernabeu, by insisting that Real would need to pay compensation in order to appoint him.
“If a club wanted to hire Mr. Martinez, he should first reach an agreement with the Federation,” a Belgian FA spokesperson told press agency AFE.
“We do not comment on the contracts that the Federation has with its collaborators and that we consider as private matter.”
A popular appointment?
Last week, a report in Spanish publication El Pais suggested that Thibaut Courtois, who joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in the summer, was one of the players who was most opinionated on who the club’s next manager should be.
Having worked with Conte and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in the past, the Belgium goalkeeper had reportedly suggested that he’d be very disappointed if either of those managers were to be appointed.
Martinez, however, is a manager that Courtois apparently believes to be ‘perfect’ for the job, having played under him for Belgium since 2016.
There is also an argument that the appointment of Martinez could help the club in their pursuit of Chelsea winger and Belgium star Eden Hazard, if he is indeed a target for the club.
The Spaniard is under contract with the Belgium national team until 2020 and it remains to be seen whether Real will go on to make an approach for him in the coming days or weeks.
The post Belgium issue statement on Real Madrid links to Roberto Martinez appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2qjQH1p
No comments:
Post a Comment