Izgleda da Real ipak nije pravio pritisak na Zubimendija da ostane tamo. Ko zna zbog cega je ovo sad dobro, mozda bi momak pukao pod pritiskom u engleskoj
Liverpool had been negotiating with Zubimendi and his entourage for two weeks. The player himself knew first-hand of the interest and the Red project. The English leaders were aware that they were going to have a hard time convincing him after he had refused to sign for other giants such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich (they say that he met with them more often than with Liverpool itself), or, less importantly, in La Liga, Barcelona (Madrid has always followed his development closely, although it has never presented a firm proposal).
But as the meetings went on, the Liverpool delegation felt that they were very close to seducing the man from San Sebastian and that he was close to saying "yes". Their problem was that Martín never stopped having doubts. And when the news reached the media in The Times and social tension began, these doubts multiplied.
Real were always clear that Liverpool were serious about going for Zubimendi and that there was a real risk that he could leave. Jokin Aperribay did not lose his cool and, fully aware that the player was not sure, decided to offer him an improved contract and make him the highest paid player in the squad. At the most critical moments, when resignation was palpable in the club itself, his move on the board almost seemed like a desperate attempt to try to avoid a leak that only a few days ago seemed doomed to be confirmed (with Merino everything seems to indicate that it will not be successful).
But it was not to be. Martín has always declared himself to be in love with Real Sociedad and his life in Donostia, where he does not need much more than his family, his team and his dog to be very happy. The trip to Germany to play the friendly against Union Berlin also helped him to clarify his ideas and his priorities, and the therapy based on affection perpetrated by the sporting management and supported by all the levels of the club ended up bearing fruit.
It was never a question of money, but rather of feeling and a sense of belonging . And although the president has always handled himself very well in this type of situation with his favourite players, who he has like any other txuri-urdin fan, and one of them is Martín, it has been Imanol Alguacil who has taken the bull by the horns and has made him see in various private meetings that he was not going to be anywhere like at Real, that this year promised strong emotions again and that, at 25 years of age, he still had time to undertake an adventure at another level abroad (what he doesn't know is that probably every summer from this one he will tell him the same thing again).
In England they tried to disguise it as if Real were closing the doors on him and almost making his life impossible to prevent his escape , but nothing could be further from the truth. What the blue and white club was doing was defending his rights, given the disadvantage that, unlike Premier League players, they have a price to be free in the form of a clause, and fighting to the death for the continuity of their player. This newspaper has been able to confirm that yesterday Liverpool gave up on the player for good, at least for this season.
