Zidane admits Real Madrid tried to sign another striker

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane spoke ahead of the match against APOEL —Wednesday, 20:45 CET— and admitted that Los Blancos might lack a pure striker.

“We cannot do anything until January now. When you look at the players we had, Morata and Mariano, and now we only have Mayoral, it might look like we're missing a number nine, but it wasn't to be in the end. I wanted to see Morata stay, but he wanted to play more and we have to respect that. We don't have to go any further into it, we will find a solution. I have every faith in Mayoral. he is young and eager to play. We are going to stick to our guns and I am convinced that in doing so, we will do very well,” said Zidane.

He also explained that Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in the starting XI.

“He is doing well, focussed. He is happy because he will soon be doing what he loves again: playing football. We are happy for him. He is doing well both physically and mentally. We are excited to get him back on the pitch because he is a real boost for the side. He will play tomorrow but will still be serving his ban on Sunday. I hope that will be the last game he misses this season,” added the French coach.