Real Madrid players return to training this Monday. A little before everyone else. Carlo Ancelotti’s team faces Valencia in a match postponed from the 13th day, Friday evening at Mestalla, and the Merengues have the opportunity to take the lead in La Liga with two points more than Atlético in the event of victory. Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius and company must absolutely win on the Chés field, catastrophic this season (penultimate with two victories in 17 matches).
While his Madrid teammates Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius went to Dubai for the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony on Friday, Mbappé also spent a few days in the United Arab Emirates city. The captain of the France team celebrated Christmas with his family in Paris, then flew to the Middle East. He was able to stay at Raffles The Palm Dubai, a sublime palace on the Palm Jumeirah (where the iconic Atlantis stands), as he reported on his Instagram account, mentioning the French hotel group Accor.
Mbappé with Hakimi
In a Dubai populated by Europeans and tourists from all over the world, Mbappé could not hope to go unnoticed like during his getaway to Stockholm. So no madness for the 26-year-old striker, who mainly took advantage of the sun and notably went with his friend Achraf Hakimi to the desert to ride a buggy. Cristiano Jr, the son of “CR7”, also spent the afternoon in this very exclusive club.
Real has a particularly busy schedule to start the year 2025 since, after the La Liga match in Valencia on Monday, the winner of the 2024 Champions League plays its round of 16 in the Copa del Rey next Monday, against a D4, Deportiva Minera , before traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup, with a semi-final scheduled for Thursday against Mallorca. For a potential final against the winner of Bilbao-Barça (Athletic being the winner of the 2024 Copa del Rey).
