Míchel Salgado was a star right-back for Real Madrid who played 371 times for the club. He won the Champions League twice and La Liga four times with Los Blancos. Real Madrid have just signed a new right-back from Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Salgado is impressed with the recruit.
Talking on a Zoom call in both English and Spanish, Salgado said, "It is an amazing signing! It is not easy to sign a player like him. It is a shame that he could not come earlier because we have the best one, which is (Dani) Carvajal, but we knew he would be outisde of the pitch for a long time sadly. He will be strong mentally to come back, but Trent is bringing something new.
"As a right-back, I think that Carvajal can teach Trent to defend even better. Trent is an amazing player going forward, but he can learn more things on the defensive way. Carvajal can be the perfect person to teach him. First of all, what it is to be at Real Madrid, and then what it is to be a defender. To be a right-back with the balance in attacking and defending. Now we have the two best right-backs in Real Madrid."
Real Madrid paid £10m to Liverpool to capture Alexander-Arnold before the Club World Cup. This shows how desperate they were to sign the player, as they could have got him for free when his contract expired at the end of June.
Salgado also played alongside Real Madrid's new manager, Xabi Alonso, for Spain. He is excited to see how his former teammate gets on as manager of Los Blancos at the Club World Cup. "It will be nice to see Xabi Alonso preparing for this tournament with such little time. I know him, he is a special guy. He is very knowledgeable, he has what you need to do the job with Madrid."
The former right-back played in the inaugural Club World Cup in 2000, which took place in Brazil. That tournament had just eight teams, but Salgado's Real Madrid side could not lift the trophy. They beat Al-Nassr and Raja Casablanca but could only draw with Corinthians. The Brazilian side topped Group A, and Los Blancos finished second, so the La Liga side had to settle for playing in the match for third place. Despite playing in all of their group matches, Salgado was left on the bench against Necaxa, who defeated his team on penalties. This meant that Real Madrid finished fourth.
Salgado does not have fond memories of the competition in 2000. "It was a disaster! The first thing I remember when I arrived in Brazil was that we had Man United by the pool, just enjoying the day. It was totally different. I wish I could play a Club World Cup like they have now.
"We had won the Champions League, but it was difficult for us to go to Brazil in December. The organisation was so bad, and the tournament was not even because we had something like three groups of four qualifying in a strange way. For us, it was like a stone in our shoe. Our memories of this World Cup were quite poor, not because we did not win it. It was good for the trip, but not an exciting competition."
Salgado also represented Real Madrid at the Intercontinental Cup. He was on the bench as Real Madrid lost to Boca Juniors in the 2000 edition of the tournament. However, he played as Los Blancos defeated Olimpia to win the prize two years later.
David Beckham is a former teammate of Salgado, and the two remain great friends. Salgado gives us his take on the club Beckham has built in MLS, Inter Miami. "I often speak with David Beckham, I was recently in Miami for David's birthday party. Miami have only been around for a few years, but they have a roster that has achieved great things worldwide.
"(Lionel) Messi is still one of the greatest in the world despite his age. Their six is one of the best in history (Sergio) Busquets. The same goes for (Luis) Suárez and Jordi Alba. Miami, all they need to do is enjoy the tournament, especially their young American players need to use it to mature and see what it is like to play at the highest level."
Real Madrid is one of the most trophy-laden teams in the world, and this includes global competition. Los Blancos have won five Club World Cups and four Intercontinental Cups. They will play Al-Hilal, Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg at the Club World Cup this summer. Alonso's side is one of the favourites and will be desperate to win the first edition of the tournament in its new expanded format.
Salgado is synonymous with Real Madrid, but he also has experience in soccer across the world. He played for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League and Independiente in Panama. Whilst also representing other Spanish sides, Celta Vigo and Salamanca.
Since retiring from playing, Salgado has owned Fursan Hispania in Dubai. He has also worked as the director of football of the Cypriot side Pafos and had two spells as their caretaker manager. Salgado was also Javier Aguirre's assistant at Egypt. He is currently the head coach of Saudi Arabia U15.