Tchouameni: "When I saw the comebacks, I wrote to my agent to tell him to take me to Real Madrid"

Aurélien Tchouameni spoke his first words in public as a Real Madrid footballer on a basketball court, and later, in the Valdebebas press room, he cited Kobe Bryant and Michel Jordan as inspiration: “They are legends who always tried to perfect their game to give the maximum”.

At that moment of his presentation as a new Madridista player, he was already speaking in French, but before, on the floor, he had started in Spanish, without papers, with confidence: “I am very happy to be here to start my story with Real Madrid , The best club in the world.

Very happy.

And we are going to work hard to continue winning more titles for this club.

Thank you to the president, my agent and my family for being here.

And hala Madrid ”, he declaimed.

💬 The first words of @atchouameni as a madridista!

#WelcomeTchouameni pic.twitter.com/YqerOecY6a

– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) June 14, 2022

It was a presentation, and in the presentations the joy of having signed for the new club is always a central theme.

Tchouameni developed it hooking his enthusiasm to the astonishment of the comebacks of this last Champions League: “When I watched the games against PSG, against City, against Chelsea, I wrote to my agent to tell him please, do what you can so that he goes to the Real Madrid.

I can't not go to Real Madrid”, he said.

The hangover from that succession of impossible is still felt in the club's offices, where they are aware of its magnetism.

Even the president, Florentino Pérez, referred to it enthusiastically in his welcome speech for the French player: “You will feel a force that is difficult to explain, the force of the Santiago Bernabéu,” he told Tchouameni.

“You will see how is the irrepressible magic that our stadium gives off.

You will find out for yourself why this is the greatest club in history.”

Later, the Frenchman came to say that he already knew, that was why he had opted for the whites' offer: "It's true that I had the opportunity to choose other teams, but as soon as I found out that Real Madrid was interested in me, I did not hesitate one second.

I want to leave a mark on football history and I think the best team to achieve this is Real Madrid”.

In that, in the decision between the Bernabéu and Paris Saint-Germain, Pérez also had an impact: "You had the opportunity to choose and you have chosen this shield and this shirt with which we have won 14 European Cups".

Aurélien Tchouameni, during the press conference.

ISABEL INFANTS (REUTERS)

Another factor that weighed in on the Frenchman's decision was a call he received from Carlo Ancelotti: “I spoke with the coach a few weeks ago, during the negotiations, to find out what he thought.

He told me that if he wanted to continue growing as a player and be one of the best midfielders in the world, he should come to Real Madrid, because everything is ready to do so here”.

Tchouameni is presented as a conscientious guy determined to progress detail by detail.

When he arrived at Monaco from Bordeaux in 2020 and was only 20 years old, he thought about how to take advantage of having Cesc Fàbregas as a partner: "If I had a good relationship with him he could give me good advice to improve and progress as a player", he recalled .

“The first thing he told me was that as soon as I get the ball back I have to go forward, because maybe the other team is not prepared defensively.

And that I have to get all the information possible from the rival team.

And seeing the whole field is very important, seeing what happens before the ball reaches his feet”.

But he admits that he still has progress to make and that is why, and because of what Ancelotti told him, he is moving to Madrid: “I am still a very young player.

I have to improve in all aspects of the game,

and I think I'm at the best club to work on these aspects”, said the player, who inherits the number 18 that Gareth Bale has just released.

“I asked what numbers were available, and they told me 18, which is the closest to 8″, the one he has worn most often, and which is kept by Toni Kroos.

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