(Football news) Dani Ceballos’ Real Madrid career has been very interesting right from the beginning. He was signed as a 21 year old for €18 million from his boyhood club Real Betis. In his first start at Real Madrid, Ceballos scored twice in a 2-1 win against Deportivo Alaves. His career with Los Blancos had got off to an incredible start but soon things went south.

It became increasingly difficult for him to get game time with the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Isco and Mateo Kovacic. There was an incident in Real Madrid’s match against Leganes where Ceballos was brought on for just 28 seconds. Zinedine Zidane publicly apologized to the player which is not something that usually happens.

Real Madrid did end up winning their 3rd consecutive UCL title but Ceballos didn’t have much to do with it. Next season Madrid went through 3 managers and ended up having an embarrassing season. Ceballos had a really good moment where he scored the winner against his former club Real Betis at the Benito Villamarín from a free-kick after being booed by the home fans throughout the game. His gametime that season didn’t improve but he managed to get himself a loan move to Arsenal. He won the man of the match award on his first start against Burnley where he assisted both of Arsenal’s goals in a 2-1 win.

First Unai Emery and later Mikel Arteta were both big fans of the player. Arsenal ended up winning the FA Cup that season and Dani Ceballos was a key player. Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay and he ended up extending his loan deal for another season. Ceballos’ 2nd season didn’t go too well as he didn’t look like the player he was before. The midfielder made too many individual errors in important games which ended up costing Arsenal. He returned to Real Madrid but the club was planning to sell him immediately. He faced an injury at the Olympics which made a transfer impossible and he ended up staying. 

After his return from injury Dani Ceballos had another incident in a Copa Del Rey game against Alcoyano where he had an argument with Carlo Ancelotti for not bringing him on earlier. The turning point was against Elche in the Copa Del Rey game. Ceballos came on in extra time when the score was 0-0 but soon Marcelo was sent off and Real Madrid went 1-0 down. Ceballos showed his quality as he led Real Madrid to a comeback with 10 men. The Spaniard assisted Isco’s equaliser as Los Blancos ended up winning 2-1. From that game onwards Ancelotti started using Ceballos as a substitute more often.

He even started a couple of games for Real Madrid after the club were almost guaranteed to win the league as starters were given rests before key UCL matches. His performances were really good in those matches and he gained the trust of the manager and his teammates. He even came on as a substitute in the Champions League final and almost ended up scoring a goal. Ceballos entered the final year of his contract but Real Madrid didn’t sell him as Ancelotti along with others wanted him to stay. This season his gametime has significantly improved. In the Copa Del Rey game against Villarreal, Real Madrid were 2-0 down when Ceballos replaced Toni Kroos in the 56th minute.

Dani Ceballos assisted Vinicius Jr’s goal to make it 2-1 and also played the key pass that resulted in Eder Militao’s equaliser. In extra time he scored an incredible goal to win the match for Real Madrid. Ancelotti srarted Ceballos in the following game away at Athletic Club as both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were benched. He was benched for the for the Copa Del Rey match against Atletico yesterday but came on after Ferland Mendy’s injury after Madrid was already 1-0 down. Real Madrid ended up winning 3-1 and Ceballos was once again a key part of it.

Now Dani Ceballos has entered the last 6 months of his Real Madrid contract but according to reports the club wants him to renew. Even if the renewal doesn’t materialize and he ends up leaving for free, Real Madrid fans will always have fond memories of him. At the beginning of last season it looked like Ceballos’ career was on the decline but his recent performances means that many top clubs all over Europe will be keeping an eye on him.

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