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Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal was forced to retract his words to Real Madrid after his side Flamengo were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup in a 3-2 loss to Al Hilal.
After Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores on October 30th 2022, they qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup. They would have a chance to compete against Los Blancos, who also qualified due to their UEFA Champions League triumph in May 2022.
A well-known Real Madrid 'hater', Vidal took his chance to stir the pot by threatening them following their qualification:
“Madrid, we are going to break your a**”, Vidal said after the game.
Chants also broke out in the Flamengo locker room of:
“Real Madrid, your time is going to come."
Fast-forward nearly three months later and Arturo Vidal must be regretting his earlier statements now.
Flamengo were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup in an enthralling 3-2 loss to Al Hilal on Tuesday (7th February).
Saudi Arabian star Salem Aldawsari scored a penalty brace and former Atletico Madrid striker Luciano Vietto got on the scoresheet for the Saudi club. Despite a brace from Flamengo star Pedro, they could not muster up a comeback.
This means that Vidal will not be getting the chance to back up his words against Los Blancos in the final this weekend. Instead, Al Hilal looks set to face the winners of Real Madrid versus Al Ahly.
The Chilean midfielder has had a vendetta against the Galacticos ever since he was harshly sent off in the Champions League semi-final tie against them when he played for Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid vs Al Ahly: Team News
Madrid will begin their search for a record fifth FIFA Club World Cup when they face Al Ahly today (8th February) in their semi-final match in Morocco.
The winners of the game will face off against Al Hilal in the final on Saturday (11th February) after the latter beat Flamengo in a shock 3-2 victory.
Los Blancos have their fair share of injuries at the moment with Karim Benzema (hamstring), Eden Hazard (knee), Lucas Vasquez (ankle), Thibaut Courtois (muscle), Eder Militao (groin), and Ferland Mendy (hamstring) all currently sidelined.
David Alaba has recovered from a calf injury and could potentially return to the side.
Meanwhile, Al Ahly will continue to be without Mostafa Shobeir, Karim Fouad, and Akram Tawfik as they continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Real Madrid possible starting XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Nacho, Rudiger, Alaba; Kroos, Tchouameni, Modric; Valverde, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Al Ahly possible starting lineup: El Shenawy; Hany, Metwalli, Abdelmonem, Maaloul; Fathi, Dieng, El Solia; Tau, Sherif, Abdel Kader.
