Real Madrid revealed later last week they have decided to send Takefusa Kubo on a loan to Mallorca, where he will further improve as a player and hopefully one day justify his name as “Japanese Messi“.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JULY 26: Takefusa Kubo #26 of Real Madrid takes a moment during the International Champions Cup Friendly match between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid. The match was held at MetLife Stadium on July 26, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ USA. Atletico de Madrid won the match with a score of 7 to 3. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
Takefusa Kubo has made a name for himself as one of the most promising young talents from Japan and possibly one of the biggest talents in the football world, which landed him a deal with Real Madrid in late August. While there is no denying the talent of the 18-year-old midfielder, Takefusa Kubo still needs time to develop, which Zinedine Zidane believes he can provide the “Japanese Messi” with by sending him on a loan to RCD Mallorca. The deal between Real Madrid and Mallorca has already been finalised earlier last week, when Mallorca signed the young prodigy for a year-long loan, which will see Kubo return to the Galacticos in late June 2020. At the time of writing, the Japanese midfielder has not yet played an official match for Mallorca, however, he has already started training with the team in preparation for his first fixture in the Vermilions’s outfit, which is set to take place this Friday, August 30, when Mallorca take a visit to Valencia for their third fixture of the season.
Following his arrival at Mallorca, Los Bermellones released a statement praising the young Japanese player, his talent, skill and overall quality. Additionally, the Mallorcan team expressed they are happy with Kubo’s ability to speak Spanish, due to the fact he has come through FC Barcelona academy when he was only 10 years of age. Back then (2015), he had to return back to Japan as a result of FIFA sanction handed to the club for breaching rules on signing under-aged players. It was also reported Barcelona promised Kubo they will bring him back as soon as they will be able to. That, however, did not go as planned for the Blaugrana, as they were too late to re-sign the young prodigy. Instead, it was their biggest rivals, Real Madrid, who jumped the chance to sign Kumbo for the only €2million, which could prove to be the best €2 million Real Madrid have spent.
Looking back at Takefusa Kubo’s football career so far, he has started his football journey at KF Youth, from where he joined Barcelona Youth in 2011. After five years in Spain, Kubo returned to Japan, where he joined FC Tokyo Youth and later in 2017 FC Tokyo senior team. A year later Kubo moved to Yokohama on a loan, where he played only six fixtures, during which he scored a goal and added an assist. Kubo returned to FC Tokyo in January 2019, where he appeared in 16 fixtures, scored five goals and added four assists. At the start of July, however, FC Tokyo decided to let Kubo go to Real Madrid, where he could further develop as a player and should he live up to the expectations become one of the Japanese football legends.
By moving far away from his home and directly into one of the strongest football leagues in the world, Takefusa Kubo received an excellent opportunity to grow as a player and showcase all his talents, which even in Japan did not go unnoticed by top European teams. How well is Kubo prepared to play among the big boys is anyone’s guess, yet we will get a proper answer to that this Friday when Kubo is expected to play against Valencia.
