In the 1-3 defeat to AC Milan in the Champions League, midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was booed by fans at Santiago de Bernabeu. This is a situation that many club legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Iker Casillas have experienced. However, for a 24-year-old player, the French star will face a lot of pressure.
The failure did not necessarily come from Tchouameni's mistakes, but he was the one who received the most attention when he made a wrong pass, contributing to Milan's second goal. Before that, the midfielder born in 2000 also failed to block Christian Pulisic's corner kick, creating an opportunity for Malick Thiaw to score the opening goal.
After the mistake, Tchouameni was substituted in the first half. In addition, he also suffered from ankle flaccidity and will be out of action for at least a month. In fact, the French star is not the first player to be booed by the Bernabeu audience for his form and probably will not be the last.
However, it is a question of how Tchouameni, a player who was once highly regarded, fell into this situation and how coach Carlo Ancelotti will find a way to replace him for the upcoming series, including the important match against Liverpool in the Champions League at the end of November.
Aurelien Tchouameni joined Real Madrid from AS Monaco in 2022 with a transfer fee of up to 80 million Euros (not including additional terms of up to 20 million euros). He is expected to inherit the defensive midfield position after Casemiro left Los Blancos.
Last season, Tchouameni played a lot in the center-back position when the team was in a personnel crisis due to injuries. However, the injury suffered from the match against Barcelona in October 2023 has significantly affected his stability and form.
Injuries have kept the 24-year-old out of last year's Champions League final. After treatment, Tchouameni returned to the squad but he was still affected and had to miss a number of important matches with the French team. A source from Real Madrid said that the team is trying to adjust the playing volume to avoid Tchouameni's injury recurring.
Toni Kroos' retirement in the summer of 2024 has forced Tchouameni to take on a more important role in the squad, especially in terms of his accurate passing ability and long passes, which Kroos has been very good at.
However, the French star's playing style is more defensive and is said to be the most similar to Casemiro among Real Madrid's three midfield legends. The coaching staff did not blame him for the team's failures but said that Los Blancos are currently a "difficult problem" with many problems coming at the same time and requiring a synchronous solution.
Tchouameni is considered a gem that needs to be sharpened and the Real Madrid board have no doubt about his important role in the future of the team. The Premier League big boys Chelsea and Liverpool have expressed interest in him. However, the 24-year-old midfielder is determined to contribute to Real.
Tchouameni will now rest to recover from his injury and will be absent from the upcoming matches against Osasuna, Leganes, Liverpool, Getafe and Athletic Bilbao. The recovery of the French star's physical condition and form will be very important when Real Madrid is devastated by a storm of injuries.
