Vaseline Isn’t First: 2 Aug 2025

Another Juninho Edition of the Daily Merengue

Welcome to The Daily Merengue — 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, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho.

We Still In Ibiza: Only 48hrs Left

Rodrygo. As we slowly head towards the beginning of practice, expect (or don’t expect at all) the Rodrygo saga to also come to a conclusion. Most recent reports from Rodra and Gustavo from ESPN Brasil state that Rodrygo is expected to stay although sources close to his entourage say that he could be open to leaving. The actual article (not the clickbait posts you read on MadridXtra & even worse Madrid Zone or MadridUniversal) states that Real Madrid / Xabi won’t force the player to leave although they are open to allow Rodrygo to leave in order to reinforce other positions of need like CB or midfielder. Rodrygo’s interest would be in the Prem; however, it looks like teams such as Arsenal would have issues with his salary + fee. Tottenham isn’t a real possibility as Rodrygo views the club as a downgrade. Liverpool could be an option but it appears like they’ll seal up the Isak signing shortly. Hopefully, this is wrapped up one way or another soon and we can then focus on the season to come because these articles really don’t say much.

tl;dr: Rodrygo is likely to stay but he also may go.

No More Signings. For everyone who loves a new shiny toy, I’m here to tell you that the likelihood of this new signing is slim. More recent reports state that Konate will likely renew with Liverpool as he’s happy and prefers to stay at the club. There are no credible links to star midfielders Enzo, Rodri or Barella. The rumors surrounding Stiller (who recently got injured) and Kees Smit have become an absolute hush. Additionally, and if we follow the finances (something you should always pay attention to before jumping at any transfer rumor), we really have no space for a new signing without a departure. We have too many CBs for another CB. We have a decent amount of midfielders with Ceballos staying. And in general I believe we currently have a full 25-player squad assuming Gonzalo Garcia is eventually registered to the 1st team.

Interesting enough…Gonzalo hasn’t been registered. But there’s still time. Not a credible rumor but there is a rumor that GG may be loaned if Endrick considers staying. But again not credible.

So MM get prepped to enter the season with this team.

Same Squad Not Same Problems. Now imo, going into the season with this squad isn’t the worst thing. Actually let’s save this for tomorrow.

Football Is A Job. I feel like I find myself saying this on MM at least once a fiscal quarter. It’s most likely twice, and I understand as fans sometimes we’re far too passionate to remember this but…football is a job. Players (who imo play far too much) are allowed to go on vacation similar to how you’re allowed to submit PTO for your own job. Players are allowed to choose to leave a club for a better paying job or a job that puts them in a better position to earn more endorsements or to simply just play. To many of you here, begrudgingly players are also allowed to stay because they’ve signed a contract which their employer (our club Real Madrid CF) is obligated to honor or payout. Football is a job. No one is doing this for free or just “for the love of the game.” If these players were paid more to be plumbers, they’d be plumbers.

It’s funny because often I think we as fans demand loyalty from our players but completely dismiss it when it comes to how Real Madrid treats our players. And I get it, we’re fans. But players are fans…they’re employees. Fuck it — they’re humans too just like you and me. Remember that when you rant about ripping up someone’s contract, forcing their exits, or complaining about them going on a 2 week vacation. You hope your boss doesn’t just fire you + go on vacation too.

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“It still aint that deep, twin.”