Roberto Soldado has reflected on his Valencia future, life in Real Madrid’s youth team and his determination to change Vicente del Bosque’s mind.
The striker is facing this summer with increasing speculation that he will be sold by Valencia, following on from the belief that Los Che’s failure to qualify for the Champions League sees them in need of raising further cash in the market.
“I’m very happy at Valencia but I do not close the door to anything,” Soldado has mused in an interview with Movistar published today.
“I have also seen that for colleagues who have left Spain things are going well.
“The Premier League and Bundesliga are very attractive for any player, for the image those Leagues have, and anyone would be interested in something there.
“Atletico Madrid interested? It is a compliment that they are interested in me. They are a team with a winning mentality.
“But for now I have a contract with Valencia and, for now, I want to fulfil it.”
Should Soldado stay at Mestalla, then he will be working under a new Coach in Miroslav Djukic, following on from Ernesto Valverde’s departure.
“He was a Coach who resurrected the team. When he arrived, he found a lifeless team, they did not convey anything on the pitch. What he did had a radical change.
“He was very positive for everyone, and whilst we did not achieve the target that we wanted [Champions League qualification], he is a Coach who has given us a lot and for me it is a shame that he has not stayed.”
Soldado turned his attention to his national team Coach Del Bosque. Whilst the 62-year-old has included the striker in his Confederations Cup squad, he continues to vocalise doubts over La Roja’s striking credentials.
“I want to change Del Bosque’s mind so that he does not think that Spain do not have a No 9 with the right conditions.
“I know that every call to the national team will come because I have deserved it, not because it has been handed to me, so I have to keep working and scoring goals for Valencia, because that is the only way to get into the squad.”
The 28-year-old formed in the youth ranks at Real Madrid, but has only come to prominence in his time away from the Santiago Bernabeu.
“There you form as a player, as a person, but the truth is that for a long time, when it comes to the youngsters, they are committed more to foreign players.
The homegrown ones are not given the opportunity or handed the patience that the club have with outsiders, so it is more difficult to succeed there. But that is football, not just Madrid.”
