Marc Cucurella talks Yamal, Vinicius, Guler and Diomande: ‘We are the best team in Europe’

After a rough start to life at Real Madrid, Marc Cucurella picked up his form after the last international break and has been sensational ever since.

Over the past month, the player stepped up in all of Los Blancos’ games, and even if he was not a headliner, he was always a rock-solid part of the back line.

His biggest game, notably, came against Barcelona when he kept Lamine Yamal in his pocket, and he is now on international duty with the Spanish national team.

Speaking to the media on duty with the Spanish national team, Marc Cucurella opened up about how life was as a Real Madrid player and a plethora of other topics. He was first asked who his favorite teammate was, to which he said,

“Best Real Madrid player? I can tell you the typical names – Mbappé, Bellingham, or Courtois, but I will tell you someone that goes under the radar: Arda Guler.”

“When Arda plays, we play differently. I love him,” he added.

The defender then did not hold back and called Real Madrid the best team in the world at the moment.

“In my opinion, we are currently the best team in Europe.”

The full-back was then asked about the recent El Clasico where he kept Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal under control, and whether he spoke to his compatriot after the game.

“Did I talk to Lamine Yamal after El Clásico? No. I don’t have to say anything. We won, and I played a good game. That’s it.”

“I don’t like to talk or brag; I like to stay quiet and do my job. And honestly, I had a good game,” he added.

He then opened up about the recent game against Valencia and the entire situation around Pablo Maffeo.

“Pablo Maffeo? We already knew how he is before the match. I’m also a bit like him. He’s really intense, a madman. But we talked it out and we’re fine.”

“During the match, he’s unbearable and hateful, but it ends when the match is over. I’m also like this, not to that extent, but the same style,” he added.

The new signing was then asked how the dressing room felt with Vinicius Jr. sidelined from action and with the player struggling for form.

“Does the team see Vini Jr. being sad? Honestly, he seems good in the dressing room, he is happy.”

“But, a player likes to play well and in his case, playing well is scoring goals in every match or getting assists and now he isn’t finding his best version,” he added.

Backing the player and praising him for his quality, Cucurella said.

“You also have to understand him. When a player has been playing at a spectacular level for 5 years, being one of the best in the world, you can understand that he’ll have a bad run, he’s a normal person in the end.”

“In my case, my first 6 months at Chelsea were a disaster. What’s good is that I see him training hard and giving it his all; that’s what matters,” he added from personal experience.

Finally, he spoke on how a fully in-form Vinicius can transform Real Madrid.

“If Vini Jr. returns to his prime, we will be an unstoppable team.”

At the end of his interview, the player was asked if Yan Diomande made life easier for him by helping out in defence more than Vinicius.

“Diomandé helps me more than Vini Jr. in defence? No, it’s not that Diomandé helps me more, it’s that it gets highlighted more.”

“Diomande tracks back and it’s all over the news. Vini makes 3 trackbacks, but doesn’t in 1 instance, and that is the one that will get highlighted,” he added.

On how the media is targeting the Brazilian star, Cucurella bluntly said,

“If Vini scored 3 goals per match, no one would say anything to him. The most important thing is that he gets back to his best because if he’s in his prime, we will have a sensational team.”

Finally, the player narrated a jovial story of how Jose Mourinho made fun of his World Cup-winning pledge involving a tattoo of Luis de La Fuente.

“José Mourinho sent me an edited picture of my chest with his face tattooed on it.”

“The real José Mourinho is very different from the public perception of Mourinho, in a good way,” he added.

“He’s very close to us, he’s a very good person, he likes to talk to us and joke around with us. But of course, he’s the boss, and we’ll do whatever he says.”