Daily Thread: 19 July 2023

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Felipejack, Kung_Fu_Zizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Valyrian Steel.

Off to America!!

Real Madrid will depart for the USA today to officially begin the pre-season. They will use the fantastic facilities at UCLA to train and then take part in the Soccer Champions Tour 2023. Here is the full schedule:

-Real Madrid-Milan (23 July, Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles).

-Real Madrid-Manchester United (26 July, NRG Stadium, Houston)

-Real Madrid-Barcelona (29 July, AT&T Stadium, Dallas)

-Real Madrid-Juventus (2 August, Camping World Stadium, Orlando)

Rival Watch: FC Barcelona

Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona are coming off a successful season under Xavi and he will be hoping their fine performances in 2022-23 will boost their chances of bringing in some big names ahead of the new season.

Lionel Messi was the biggest name who had been linked with a move to Camp Nou after two years at PSG, but the Argentine made the decision to move to MLS instead. Barcelona also saw two long-time serving servants leave the club, with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba calling it a day on their Barcelona careers.

Veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has joined the Catalan club on a free transfer after helping Manchester City win a historic treble last season. The 32-year-old becomes Barcelona’s first signing of the summer, and will bring his wealth of experience to Xavi’s side. At the back, Inigo Martinez has arrived from Athletic Club on a Bosman transfer as a like-for-like replacement for the retired Gerard Pique.

The Blaugrana have also confirmed they have reached an agreement with Athletico Paranaense for the signing of 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Vitor Roque for a fee of around €40 million, with the forward set to link up with them next summer. Former La Masia product Oriol Romeu has also returned to his former club after an agreement has been reached with Girona.

With many players returning from Loan, it’s still early days in the transfer window. Joax Felix could be on the move too.