Cucurella is loudly booed by 62,000 people on his Real Madrid debut
Marc Cucurella was booed throughout Sunday afternoon's Schalke 04 v Real Madrid (0-3). Germany's fans have clearly not forgotten the European Championship semi-final in 2024.
Cucurella completed a €60 million move from Chelsea to Real Madrid earlier this summer. He had to wait until Sunday to make his debut.
The left-back had still been on holiday in recent weeks because he was involved in the World Cup until the final on 19 July.
He went on to win the World Cup with Spain and played an important part, supplying two assists during the tournament. Cucurella had also played a major role in 2024, when the southern European country won the European Championship.
Against Germany, Cucurella found himself at the centre of attention. In the closing stages of that semi-final, with the score at 1-1, Jamal Musiala struck the ball against the defender's arm.
The referee did not award Germany a penalty and Spain won in extra time. Afterwards, UEFA admitted Germany should have been given a penalty.
Those in Gelsenkirchen had clearly not forgotten the incident. Cucurella came on after 61 minutes and they booed him every time he touched the ball.
Even so, Cucurella was satisfied with his debut for Real Madrid. "I’m enormously happy. It is nice to see that all the hard work of recent years has finally been rewarded."
