World Sports: Diaz is difficult to win the main position in Real Madrid, competition intensifies after Mastantono joins

Western media "World Sports" wrote an article saying that Diaz has always played the role of "super substitute" in Real Madrid, and Mastantono's joining may further hinder him from becoming the main player of the team.

Diaz played a major role in the two seasons since his return from Milan, but never became an absolute main force.

Dias competes with Rodrigo and Guerre, the two players occupy Real Madrid's offensive right-hand side, preventing Dias from gaining more stable playing time. For Ancelotti, Diaz has always been an important pawn on the bench.

Diaz was one of the few players in the team who had almost no physical problems last season. He only suffered a thigh muscle injury in September. Therefore, he participated in 56 games in all competitions, contributing 6 goals and 8 assists, and playing for a total of 2,289 minutes. He is the tenth player under Ancelotti and Xavi Alonso.

Last season, only Valverde (5556 minutes), Joan Ammeni (4866 minutes), Bellingham (4793 minutes), Rudiger (4539 minutes), Vinicius (4629 minutes), Mbappe (4742 minutes), Fran Garcia (3498 minutes), Rodrigo (3452 minutes) and Modric (2984 minutes) played more than Dias.

The arrival of Xavi Alonso did not bring much change to Dias. In the Club World Cup, Dias failed to get any starting chance, participated in only 4 games, and sat on the bench in the 1/8 final against Juventus and Dortmund.

Despite few opportunities to play, Xavi Alonso praised Dias' attitude and willingness, saying that he always put the collective first and never asked for more playing time in front of the media.

Alonso once said: "It is very important to have a player that can make a positive impact. Diaz has been very good every day with us and trains very hard. I know I can rely on him at any time."

"He is a player who understands the game very well. He is competitive and has excellent ability to change the course of the game. Even when he appears in the last 20 or 30 minutes, he is excellent and knows how to deal with it. It is a valuable quality, of course, if the starter is the same."

Real Madrid is dealing with Diaz's contract renewal, whose contract expires in 2027, while awaiting the arrival of Mastantono on August 14. The player will land at the Bernabeu as an adult, and for Diaz, it will be another obstacle to his gaining a main position.