Bono: I should have gone to Real Madrid, I was their priority. He explains how the transfer fell through

Thibaut Courtois’ injury has left a big hole at Real Madrid. The management had to find a new goalkeeper in a hurry, there were several options. One of them was Moroccan goalkeeper Bono, but his transfer didn’t work out.

Real Madrid have boasted a quality and stable number one virtually since the beginning of the new century, when youngster Iker Casillas broke into goal and gradually became the club’s captain and icon.

He was replaced by Keylor Navas in 2014, who went on to win three Champions League titles, before Thibaut Courtois took his place in 2019.

His engagement was accompanied by a bit of labour pains, but the Belgian hit the form of his life to become the world’s best goalkeeper. But before the season started, a sporting tragedy struck when Courtois tore a ligament in his knee and will likely miss the entire season.

Los Blancos immediately started looking for a replacement. One of the first options was to be Bono. The Moroccan goalkeeper had a great performance at Sevilla, with whom he won two Europa Leagues and also reached the semi-finals against Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar.

The penalty magician was also interested in moving from Andalusia to the Spanish capital, and at 32 years of age, it might have been his last chance. But in the end, the transfer fell through.

“As far as I know, I was the first choice of Carlo Ancelotti and the management,” Bono told Radio Canal Sur during the Morocco national team meeting .

“But then the management analysed the situation and saw that I could have gone to the African Championship in the winter and missed a lot of important games in a key month for the club and it was impossible to reconcile,” regrets the Moroccan goalkeeper. AFCON takes place from 13 January to 11 February 2024.

So Real Madrid eventually reached out to Chelsea for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who came in on loan. However, the AFCON deadline has been causing problems for a long time.

Earlier, Jürgen Klopp, for example, complained about it, losing his main stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané for a month. Other clubs with African players are also protesting against the championship’s winter deadline.

“The African championship has affected a lot not only me, but also Youssef En-Nesyri, ” Bono said, adding that it is hard to find a new club when you miss more than a month.

Source: Canal Sur