Rafa Benítez is not counting on Asier Illarramendi. It is hard to think otherwise if we consider that the Real manager has preferred not to include the player in the team list for this season’s first league game against Sporting. The fact that Mateo Kovacic, who has only taken part in a couple of training sessions with the team, has been chosen before him is a clear sign that Illarra has a foot and a half out of the Bernabéu’s back door.

With Benítez’s intentions now blatantly clear, the Spaniard must take stock of his situation. Liverpool are very much interested in contracting his services, and he has until the summer market window closes on 31st August to decide what to do. Things as they stand, if he wants to have any chance of getting some serious playing time, he’ll have to look elsewhere.

In his first season, Illarramendi played 49 games, a total of 2,496 minutes for Real Madrid. He arrived at the club all set to take over from Xabi Alonso but never managed to achieve starter status. His second season was an even greater disappointment for the Basque man, only putting in 1,736 minutes of game time for his team. Things don’t look like they are going to get any better under his new boss either, and with the signing of Kovacic, Illarra’s future at ‘La Casa Blanca’ looks very gloomy indeed. Now the midfielder has to decide whether to stay and fight for a place or pack his bags and move on.