Inside Spain
Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.
Those were not the headlines Kylian Mbappe wanted to make at Real Madrid. The forward skipped international duty with France in order to reboot his fitness, and during his days off went to Stockholm, and the hangover lasted a full week. Mbappe was caught by the paparazzi on his night out with Bayer Leverkusen’s Nordi Mukiele, and on Monday was linked by Swedish media to a rape investigation that was ongoing at the hotel he was staying at. His lawyer has vehemently denied any involvement in the case, and suggested he was setup. Mbappe is convinced that it was his former club, Paris Saint-Germain behind it, as part of a campaign to besmirch his image.
Liverpool also tried to begin contract talks with Trent Alexander-Arnold during the break, but did not make the progress they had hoped for, and reports in Spain say that the Reds are now coming round to the idea they may lose him. One of the alternatives they have been linked to is Jeremie Frimpong, who is also being watched by Los Blancos, as is Tottenham Hotspur right-back Pedro Porro.
As Los Blancos focus on the right-back area, Barcelona are supposedly looking to steal in on their deal for Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies. Another star out of contract next summer, he has already agreed a deal with Real Madrid, but Barcelona have been in touch with his agent to see if they could hijack the deal. Reportedly, he would also listen to Manchester United if they make the right offer.
Luis Enrique is a divisive figure in Spain, but hard to think there is anything but empathy for him on this one. He was asked if he felt lucky or unlucky, bearing in mind his daughter Xana passed away aged 9 from bone cancer.
Perhaps he can solve their problems. Donny van de Beek couldn’t, and perhaps more worryingly could not even explain why United struggle so much. He is settling into life at Girona, and now has put together three straight starts. Down the coast in Valencia, owner Peter Lim is reportedly open to selling Valencia after about five years of fans pleading with him to do so – but for the pretty sum of €350-400m.
If lighter news, if Mbappe had a bad week, then spare a thought for Vinicius Tobias. The ex-Real Madrid right-back spent 2.5 years on loan at the Bernabeu, playing for their Castilla side before returning to Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. In February, in Madrid, he had announced he and parter Ingrid Lima were expecting. Last week, Maite came into the world, and what he was not expecting was to find out that the child was not his, after he got a tattoo of her name.
