Heartthrob Nacho is unhappy for the first time at Real, but his performances are making him bid for a new contract

His position in the squad is not very strong. Nacho is only the fourth stopper in the hierarchy and practically doesn’t play. Yet if he gets a chance and starts, he almost never disappoints. Will he earn a new contract?

Every footballer wants to play as much as possible and if he is sitting on the bench, logically he cannot be happy. But every player accepts that role differently. Someone starts to do badly in the cabin or publicly shows dissatisfaction, which is definitely not the case with Nacho.

the 33-year-old has been one of the least busy players this season. In the autumn, he was practically absent on the pitch and he has a lot of competition for his position. Nacho has to fight for a place with the trio of Militao, Alaba and Rüdiger, even on the pitches where he can substitute, others have priority.

But Real Madrid didn’t play well after the World Cup break, some injuries came into the mix, so Carlo Ancelotti reached for a tried and true option. Nacho replaced the injured Carvajal with Lucas at right-back and was one of Real’s best players. He earned a place in the starting line-up for the duel with Athletic.

For the first time in his life, a dissatisfied

And at San Mamés, he once again delivered a high-quality and reliable performance. Nacho is used to his role as a substitute during his career, however, after his great performances last season, he is currently a bit dissatisfied for the first time.

“I try to take advantage of every chance I get. It’s been a difficult year for me,” Nacho, who is otherwise virtually silent, said after the game.

“I think I’m proving that every time I play, I play well. I’m happy when I’m on the pitch, for every minute,” the Real Madrid offspring added.

Nacho has only worn one jersey in his entire career and his dream is to end his career as a “one club man”. However, during the current season he has thought about leaving for the first time in 12 years in the A-team. The arrival of Rüdiger made him think about it, which pushed the reliable stopper to the number 4 position.

Nacho has played the least in his career so far this season, coming into the San Mamés game with only one La Liga start and playing just 140 minutes out of a possible 1530.

Reliability above all

So it’s actually a bit of a mystery that despite this underutilization, Nacho is thrown into the water and never disappoints. He always delivers an utterly reliable, hard-working and dedicated performance, and you could count his failed performances on one hand, if at all, throughout his career. Plus, with him you can be sure that he will never mess up, no fight, no duel, no sprint.

But Nacho’s contract is up in the summer and the Spanish defender reportedly didn’t want to extend it and go somewhere where he would play more. Honestly, a stopper of that quality would be an absolute staple in a lot of teams.

But Real Madrid is the club of Nacho’s heart and if he feels there is even a small chance of playing at the Santiago Bernabéu, he will jump at it.

But at the same time, the summer transfer window will matter. It’s no secret that the club is planning a rebuild and reinforcements are expected to come in at both ends of the defence, there is also talk of the possible arrival of talented stopper Josca Guardiola.

In that case, there would be no place for Nacho and it would almost certainly mean an exit. It would be a great shame to lose such a heartthrob, an offspring and a reliable fan favourite.

Source: Real Madrid, La Liga