Tchouameni shines against Manchester United – and the Real Madrid legend he replaced
Aurelien Tchouameni emerged from the Real Madrid team bus as he usually does, walking calmly while listening to music through huge wireless headphones.
In Madrid’s first pre-season test against AC Milan, he came off at half-time. Against Manchester United, he played the first 45 minutes again, and he was impressive.
He had 37 touches, was successful with 29 of his 30 passes (97 per cent completed), won the two duels he was involved in and made two interceptions and a tackle. With Casemiro his opposite number (the Madrid legend he was supposed to replace), Tchouameni was almost impeccable, his performance another great reminder of the quality and potential he holds.
These two friendly games have provided two signs at what is a key time for the France midfielder — because his first season at Madrid left something of a bittersweet taste.
Tchouameni joined Madrid for €80million (£69m; $89.1m), plus €20m in variables, from Monaco last summer, but as the 2022-23 campaign progressed, his first-team appearances dropped. He ended the season as Madrid’s 13th-most used player, with 2,691 minutes, but after the World Cup he started only 50 per cent of the matches he was available for (compared to 85 per cent before the tournament in Qatar).
One explanation was provided to The Athletic earlier this week by Los Angeles-based personal trainer Fabrice Gautier, who Tchouameni has been working with since 2019: “I am not trying to look for excuses because I know none of the top athletes do, but it’s always hard to change from one club to another,” he said.
"No matter the sport, no matter the player; there is still an adaptation time."
"You could tell me that he thrived before World Cup, which he did, but I think a lot of people underestimate the psychological and emotional impact of first playing a World Cup in December, but more importantly, losing a World Cup final in such a dramatic way and then going back to your club right after."
"I believe it was underestimated, and I also believe not too many French players thrived last season because of that," concluded Gautier, who also works with Barcelona defender Jules Kounde.
Tchouameni, who usually spends his summers in Los Angeles, was at Gautier’s Beverly Hills clinic earlier this month. Gautier knows the midfielder like few others and describes his physical make-up as “a mix between a sprinter and marathon runner”. He adds: "He is very explosive and powerful, mixed with that cardio that makes you think he has a third lung."