Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 8y

Zinedine Zidane confirms Jese talks with PSG, Alvaro Morata to stay

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed that forward Jese Rodriguez is in transfer talks with Paris Saint-Germain, while also stating that forward Alvaro Morata will remain with Los Blancos.

Jese had previously been linked with PSG, and was held out of Saturday's 3-2 win over Chelsea in the International Champions Cup. Zidane said it was because of an impending deal.

"Yes, [Jese] has been speaking to PSG, but there's nothing official yet, so the idea was not to risk him," said Zidane in his post-match news conference.

Morata had previously been reported to be a target of Chelsea, but Zidane stated quite clearly that the player -- who had spent the last two seasons with Juventus after starting his career with Los Blancos -- isn't going anywhere.

"Morata is a Real Madrid player, and we're delighted to have him back, back to his original home, and he's going to remain a Real Madrid player," he said.

As for Saturday's match, Zidane said he was pleased with the victory, one that saw Real have plenty of success going down their left wing.

"Today it was the down the left side, tomorrow it will be down the right side," he said. "Ultimately what we were looking for was to start strong, that's what we were looking for today. I'm satisfied with how the team played. Obviously we are in preseason, but we were was looking to see something more from the team and I'm happy with what we saw."

Zidane singled out two-goal hero Marcelo for praise.

"It's been a joy to watch [Marcelo] play," he said. "He's the captain, and since Montreal it's been spectacular to see him.

"He's an important player and as you can see, he's the captain and it's the captain's job to [be] an example.

"Overall I'm happy with this match and that's the idea, to get a rhythm back and we still have a little bit of time left before the Super Cup."

The other goal came on a 30-yard blast from Mariano, and Zidane said he would have a decision to make about what will be best this season for the 22-year-old striker.

"The best thing would be for him to play and get more minutes," said Zidane about Mariano. "We'll see what happens when we get back to Madrid.

"We want to make the best decision for the club, for himself, for everyone. Ultimately it's best for him to play, but you can see that he has something that makes him belong on this team."

Real Madrid has one more ICC match to play against Bayern Munich on Aug. 3, but Zidane likes the progress his team is making.

"Overall the team is doing well, and playing well. We've seen the team get better. Obviously we're 10 days from the [UEFA] Super Cup, but what we've seen is sufficient to know that we'll be ready."

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