Tchouaméni ‘wants to leave his mark on history’ with evolving Real Madrid

“My name is Aurélien Tchouaméni, OK?” Real Madrid’s new midfielder smiled, told the media what to call him and how – a guide to pronunciation – and then told them about the men who inspired his approach. Neither were footballers. Instead, he said, the analysis, ambition and attitude that had brought him here came from across the Atlantic: from US sporting culture, basketball especially.

“Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan: I watch videos of them, legends who got the best from themselves, who perfected their play,” he said. “You can’t ever rest: you have to do everything, and that’s what I will do here.” If that was a little unexpected, it had started with a classic: Tchouaméni lying on the bed, shirt off, the name of the clinic that carried out his medical splashed across the board behind him, suckers on his chest and thumbs up.

Next came the visit to the trophy room where the 14th European Cup was added last week. And then his presentation alongside the president, Florentino Pérez – as it turned out in the appropriate setting of the basketball hall at Valdebebas. There, Tchouaméni spoke briefly in Spanish, Pérez appearing to accompany his words at one point. Happy to be at Madrid, he said it was time to write his history.

It needn’t have been written here, and much was made of the fact that it will be. There had been negotiations with other clubs, he admitted.

Liverpool had pulled out as the price rose, pushed higher by the other, more significant bidder who also had a very significant negotiator. “Kylian [Mbappé] stayed at Paris Saint-Germain; he knew that I was going to go from Monaco at the end of the season and he wanted to see if maybe I would go to PSG,” Tchouameni said. “But my first decision was always Real Madrid, and