In a recent interview (via Cadena COPE), Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz’s agent, David Aranda stated that his client failed to join Valencia on the transfer deadline day. Aranda said (translated by Football Espana),
“It was a deal that was all but done on August 31 with Mariano joining Valencia.
“The contracts were agreed between the three parties. The player was enthusiastic as he believed it was the best thing for the upcoming season.
“But something strange happened, it didn’t go through.”
🇪🇸 David Aranda (@BCN_futbol), representante de @marianodiaz7:
😮 "Ayer estaba cerrada la salida de Mariano al @valenciacf, pero se paró la operación "
🦇 "Salir al Valencia ha sido la única opción que el jugador ha valorado"#PartidazoCOPE pic.twitter.com/QNDH89mOic
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) September 1, 2021
Mariano’s Bit-Part Role At The Spanish Capital Last Season
Mariano had a frustrating season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium recently as he struggled to find any real form for Los Blancos in front of the opposition goal. The Dominican Republic international made 22 appearances for the Madrid outfit in the previous campaign but only managed to find the back of the net once across multiple competitions.
Most of the 28-year-old’s game time came off the bench which explains why he could only average 0.9 shots, 0.1 key passes and 0.4 dribbles per game in La Liga last season. He was also quite sloppy when interchanging possession with his teammates in the attacking end of the pitch after completing 69.5% of his attempted passes in the Spanish first division (stats via whoscored).
Mariano still has two years remaining in his current contract with Los Blancos. Thus, he will now have no choice but to serve as a squad player under Carlo Ancelotti’s stewardship this season after falling behind Karim Benzema and Luka Jovic in the Italian’s pecking order.
Does Mariano Have A Future At The Bernabeu?
Mariano has decent pace under his belt and has got a great leap in him that helps him to outjump the opposition centre-backs in the final third. He is a good header of the ball and usually packs a lot of power with his shot attempts.
However, things have clearly not fallen in place for him at Madrid over the past couple of seasons. Therefore, a change of scenery during the recently concluded summer transfer window would have been ideal for the player as it would have given him the chance to make a fresh start away from the Bernabeu.
Unfortunately, Mariano’s move to Valencia fell through which means that he could very well be in for another long and frustrating campaign in Spanish football unless he can find a way to switch clubs in January. The one-time Dominican Republic international has still got a lot of time to turn his fortunes around for the better, but there is no hiding from the fact that he is currently facing a bleak future at Real Madrid.
