After a week when The Times ran a story reporting that a transgender woman in Michigan USA was demanding the return of her testicles which, she claims, her ex-boyfriend is keeping in a jar in his fridge – as well as other “bits” she had removed during gender reassignment ! – Real Mallorca kick off their third successive season in top flight Spanish football with a tricky away game at the Estadio Gran Canaria at 19:30 tomorrow (Saturday, August 12) against newly promoted Las Palmas.
In almost four decades of following “Los Bermellones,” I can’t remember being so upbeat about the start of any campaign as mush as this one. The club are in a good place, financially, with season ticket sales fast approaching 18,000, we’re virtually debt free and are on the verge of signing a local-born player who will bring some much-needed quality to our midfield. Also the spectacular, refurbished, “state of the art” Son Moix stadium is nearing completion. But, of course, with the transfer window only three weeks away from closing, high drama once again comes into the mix.
Big news is that one of the best midfielders in Spanish football, Sergi Darder from Arta, is about to leave his beloved Espanyol and join RCD Mallorca. What seemed an impossible dream only a few days ago has become a reality and Darder is expected to sign for us over the next few days. Darder has always been a priority signing after Espanyol were relegated in June. The player didn’t want to ply his trade in La Segunda for a second time so Mallorca moved in to bring him back home. All that’s required now is for Espanyol’s Chinese owners to give their seal of approval.
After the sale of Kang In Lee to PSG, Real Mallorca has seen its economic power increase considerably to access the transfer window, especially after a record year in global earnings. The Palma side must comply explicitly with the financial limitations imposed by La Liga in terms of salary caps to cover staff/personnel expenses for the first team.
Espanyol wanted 15 million for 29-year-old Darder, a ridiculous amount for a player of his age ! After a lot of “faffing about,” the player fell out with the Espanyol sporting director, who refused to listen to any offers less than 10 million euros. Mallorca will pay 7.5 million for Darder plus add-ons. He’ll take a huge wage cut to around three million euros, which puts him on a par with Muriqi and Larin. Espanyol have lost their talisman, who played for “The Budgies” for most of his career. He also had spells at Malaga (when they were good) and Lyon in France.
After Kang In Lee’s departure the team has been lacking a player capable of connecting the midfield with the strikers. Only an ageing Dani Rodriguez can do box to box at present. Sergi Darder is quality and is probably the best Spanish-born player in his position never to have been capped by the national side. Our director of football Pablo Ortells has done a fantastic job so far this Summer, making what seemed impossible, become possible.
News broke on Monday that club captain Antonio Raillo was wanted by Italian Serie A side Cagliari who would pay three million euros for the 32 year old. Alarm bells began ringing as soon as this news broke, as Raillo was “tapped up” by Nottingham Forest in 2019. Mallorca were quick to issue a sentence about his leaving for a lot more money to Sardinia: “Antonio Raillo is non-transferable and any exit will not be negotiated !!” He’s been carrying a niggly toe injury since the end of last season but news of a possible departure coming before La Liga 23/24 begins is slightly worrying. Raillo is a huge favourite with the fans and his defensive work was one of the main reasons we finished ninth last season. He would be very difficult to replace in the current transfer market.
Almeria (now managed by ex Mallorca boss Vicente Moreno) are negotiating with Mallorca to sign Iddrisu Baba. Almeria’s Portuguese midfielder Samu Costa would come here as part of the deal. Baba has been disappointing over the last couple of seasons and in my opinion Costa is a better player.
As if all this drama wasn’t enough, an article on social media on Wednesday night said that because of a bureaucratic jam in Madrid (most of which goes on holiday in August), Cyle Larin and Siebe van der Heyden hadn’t been registered to play in the league. Consequently, at the time of submitting this article, they cannot play against Las Palmas.
Our home game against Athletic Club Bilbao on Sunday, September 3, has been given a 16:15 kick off time. Temperatures then won’t be much different from what they are now, so surely the time will be put back a couple of hours?
PS With all the extra time added on in recent games, I’ve been told that stadium clocks in Spain’s La Liga will now carry on ticking throughout extra time !
AND FINALLY, a blind man was describing his favourite sport, parachuting. When asked how this was accomplished he said that things were all done for him. “I’m placed in the doorway and told when to jump. My hand is placed on my release ring for me, and out I go.” “But how do you know when you are going to land” he was asked. “I have a very keen sense of smell and I can smell the trees and grass when I am 300 feet from the ground,” he answered. “And how do you know when to lift your legs for touchdown on the ground ?” He quickly replied “Oh, the dog’s lead goes slack !!”
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.