Coming into the summer transfer window, there were a lot of speculations surrounding the future of Dani Ceballos at Real Madrid.
The midfielder, who turned 28 years old today, had signed a new contract with Los Blancos last year but did not feature prominently at all.
Despite Toni Kroos’ recent retirement, the Spaniard had reservations about his situation and reportedly asked the club to sanction his departure.
Clubs like Atletico Madrid and Real Betis even showed an interest in signing him, but nothing has come of it. And now, it appears that despite all the talk about his future, Ceballos will be continuing at Real Madrid.
Ceballos happy at Real Madrid, ready to make things difficult for Ancelotti
Speaking to the club media after Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in their final pre-season friendly in the US, Ceballos insisted that he is happy at the club, all but confirming his continuity in the process.
“I’m very happy; it’s a privilege to be celebrating my birthday in this shirt,” he said.
“I’m happy here and now we are focused on the Super Cup. We want to go back to Madrid, rest and face this game in the best way possible,” the Spaniard further added.
Opening up on his situation and the solid pre-season he has had, compared to last year when he was injured, Ceballos said:
“Last year I didn’t have regularity because I started with an injury that lasted three months. But now I feel good, with more physical and technical quality. These minutes have helped me to gain confidence and now I want to make it difficult for the coach.”
Discussing the Chelsea clash, Ceballos remarked: “We have a very good feeling. We started quite well after two weeks of training. Scoring the first goal quickly really opened up the game.”
On the pre-season overall, he added: “The team’s physical work in pre-season has been spectacular. The games have helped us to get into a good rhythm and get into a good rhythm.
“The team has worked very well, acclimatising to the weather, to each pitch and to the different cities.”
Ceballos was also full of praise for his teammate Vinicius Jr., who assisted Brahim Diaz’s goal against Chelsea, terming the Brazilian as the ‘best in the world’.
“Vinicius has been at a very high level for years. This is not his first pass like this. I remember the one he gave to Bellingham at the Bernabéu. His level is to be praised, he’s gone from strength to strength and right now he’s the best in the world.”