On Wednesday Mariano Diaz rejoined Real Madrid , making the transfer just before Friday’s close of the transfer window in Spain, leaving Sevilla furious.
Having risen through the Blancos youth ranks but failing to secure a starting role in the senior squad, the forward joined Lyon last July and enjoyed a spectacular campaign in Ligue 1, netting 18 times in 34 games.
Mariano was under contract at Lyon until June 2022 but his transfer back to Madrid was confirmed on Wednesday, just over a year after moving to France for a measly €8m .
Sevilla had been the favourites to sign the Spain-born forward, having agreed a €30 million deal with Lyon.
However, as part of the transfer, Real Madrid retained not only 35 per cent of Mariano’s playing rights, they also included a buy-back option which will enable them to re-sign the forward if they matched any future bid for his signature.
As a result, Real Madrid only had to pay €20m to bolster a forward line still reeling from the loss of all-time record goalscorer Ronaldo to Juventus.
Unsurprisingly, Sevilla are unimpressed, with club president Jose Castro saying on Monday that Mariano had given him his word that he was going to sign for the Rojiblancos.
“Real Madrid have a buy option they are going to exercise,” he lamented. “But we still have no communication from the player, who has told us that he wanted to play with Sevilla again and again. He has the ability to say one thing or another.
“We negotiated with Lyon and then they have 48 hours to decide. Real Madrid did it. Are we annoyed with Real Madrid? Not at all, this is football. We have to keep working.
“We have done what we had to do, in good faith, with an agent and a player who tells us on videos and audios that he only wants to play in Sevilla.”
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