How Barca lost Asensio over €2m
In the 89th minute of the Spanish Super Cup final first leg last Sunday night, Barcelona trailed 2-1. They pushed for an equaliser when their forward Luis Suarez coughed up possession outside Real Madrid's box.
Real Madrid swept up field. The ball arrived at Marco Asensio's feet on the left wing about 40 yards from goal. Without breaking stride, he bombed the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net.
The wonder strike had effectively killed the tie, but Asensio ensured that there would be no room for a comeback when he recreated his bit of magic four minutes into the second leg. Again he picked up the ball, this time near in a more central position, and unleashed a venomous, dipping shot as Stegen stood and watched.
The irony is that, Asensio could well have been scoring at the other end for Barcelona. At a pivotal time in his development, it was nailed on that he would join Barca.
Asensio was born in Mallorca in January 1996. His Dutch mother christened him Marco after the famous Netherlands and Milan player Marco van Basten. It was an inspired decision.
As Asensio rose through the ranks at Mallorca, his raw footballing talent created a buzz in football circles around Spain.
At the beginning of the 2014-2015 season, Barca moved in to sign him. They bid 2.5 million euros for him, but Mallorca insisted on 4.5 million. "Barca said, 'No, we're not able.' They lost the opportunity," says Gaggioli. "When they changed their mind after three months, it was too late." Real Madrid had stepped into the breach.
According to Asensio, tennis star Rafa Nadal, a native of Mallorca, phoned Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, and urged him to sign Asensio.
Asensio has been a Real Madrid fan all his life. As a kid, he slept with a Real Madrid teddy bear. "His idol as a child was always Zinedine Zidane," says Gaggioli. "He used to have a huge picture of him on his wall."
Perez dispatched his private plane to pick up Asensio and his father. They were whisked to Madrid, given a tour of the Bernabeu and the club's training facility, Valdebebas.
A deal was inked. Real Madrid agreed to pay Mallorca 3.9 million euros and allowed them to keep him until the end of the season.
The Madrid press revelled in the coup. Marca's front-page headline on 25 November 2014 announcing the signature read: "Goal against Barca."
“Barcelona were not quick enough," says Aitor Lagunas, editor of the literary football magazine Panenka. "It was one of their biggest mistakes in recent years. There was such little difference in the payment. It was obvious that Marco Asensio was a different kind of player."
However, Asensio himself remains unfazed. His ability to score debut goals in competitions would bear out this sentiment. He has an uncanny knack of scoring them for Real Madrid -- in the UEFA Super Cup, the Champions League (as well as his first Champions League final against Juventus), the Copa del Rey, La Liga and last Sunday in the Spanish Super Cup.
Last season was a breakout year for Asensio. This season, which culminates with a World Cup in Russia, promises even more.
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