Turkish giants Fenerbahce are reportedly ready to offer Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz a €5 million-a-year contract to sign him this summer.
According to a report by Spanish publication AS, Mariano Diaz is closing in on joining Fenerbahce in the summer transfer window. The Turkish giants are ready to offer the Real Madrid forward a €5 million-a-year contract as he had demanded to move to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
Mariano Diaz has endured two frustrating stints with Real Madrid, playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema for the most part. The 28-year-old rejoined Los Blancos in August 2018 after an excellent 2017/18 campaign with Lyon. But his stock has fallen considerably in the last four years, as he has been a backup option irrespective of the manager at the helm at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mariano managed just 399 minutes of game-time this past season across 11 appearances, scoring one goal and assisting another. But despite featuring sparingly since returning to Real Madrid, the player has shown little desire to leave. However, Mariano’s stint with Real Madrid will likely end this summer, with Fenerbahce closing in on securing his services.
The interest from Fenerbahce is intriguing, considering Ismail Kartal has three strikers at his disposal. Mergim Berisha, Sardar Dursun and Enner Valencia featured prominently for the Turkish giants this past season, which begs the question as to why they want to sign Mariano from Real Madrid.
But Valencia and Dursun are on the wrong side of 30, which might have compelled Kartal to ask for a new striker heading into the 2022/23 season. In addition, none of the three Fenerbahce strikers is prolific enough, meaning the Turkish giants need to sign a new striker to mount a challenge for the Super Lig title next term.
Mariano is thus a viable target for Fenerbahce, who tabled a €4 million-a-year deal to prise him away from Real Madrid. But the 28-year-old has been demanding a contract worth €5 million per year to move to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in the summer transfer window, with the club now ready to meet his demands.
So while Mariano had reportedly been keen on staying at Real Madrid beyond the summer transfer window, he is now set to sign a €5 million-a-year contract to join Fenerbahce. It will be interesting to see if another suitor swoops in late on to beat the Turkish giants to the Real Madrid forward’s signature.