Real Madrid defener Nacho Fernandez seemed destined to leave the club last summer until the latter half of June, and he looked destined to depart as much as a week ago, but once again the veteran defender has been assailed by doubts as the major step approaches.

The 34-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and has a renewal offer on the table from Real Madrid, but had been set on leaving the club this summer. His intention was to head to Major League Soccer, but Marca say that a move to the USA has not taken shape in recent months, and despite the interest of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, he was not intending on taking his family there in the first place.

Now Carlo Ancelotti has made a second plea to Nacho to change his mind and stay at the club once more. Earlier in the season it was reported that the relation between the pair was not the best, as Nacho did not feel he had the faith of Ancelotti, who started Aurelien Tchouameni ahead of him at centre-back in a number of games.

That was the initial reason that Nacho considered leaving, but the celebrations of recent weeks, starting in both semi-finals and the Champions League final, combined with his lack of options, have put doubt in his mind. Ancelotti told his captain that he was ‘crazy’ to consider leaving Los Blancos during the final celebrations, and has now has reached out a second time to change Nacho’s mind.