Fabio Coentrao
Fabio Coentrao has absolutely failed in his second stint at Real Madrid. Arriving at the Chamartin team in the summer of 2011 in exchange for €30m after being linked to other top teams such as Bayern Munich, the Portuguese international was a key piece in the Merengue squad during his two seasons wearing white (63 games).
Although his performance never lived up to expectations, and in the following two seasons he slowly lost importance in the team (39 matches between both), the player had some standout performances. A clear example of this was the semifinals of the Champions League against Bayern Munich in 2014, starting in both matches and assisting Karim Benzema in the 1-0 victory in the first leg. After four years at Real Madrid, it was time for a change of scenery. His destination was found in Ligue 1 defending the colors of Monaco, where he played 19 official matches (3 goals, 2 assists). However, injuries caused him to miss 12 of the last 13 matches of the French competition before returning to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Complicated Season
A sign of the confidence in the performances that the Portuguese could offer, Real Madrid discarded the possibility of signing any other replacement for Brazilian Marcelo, opting for both as alternatives for the left flank. However, Fabio Coentrao has been like a ghost this season. Thus, his record this season is limited to just 207 minutes spread across 5 official matches, of which only two have been in the league.
Often injured, Zinedine Zidane has been forced to rely on other solutions for the left side in several matches, such as Nacho and even Brazilian Danilo. Furthermore, when he has been on the field his performances have been very poor, as was the case in Lisbon against Sporting Portugal, when he was on the pitch for only 19 minutes but had enough time to commit a ridiculous penalty.
Therefore, while Real Madrid looks for possible alternatives in the market, nobody doubts that Fabio Coentrao will leave the club next summer. He will leave with the label of a failed signing and without having been able to overcome the tag of the million-euro signing requested by Jose Mourinho. His future? A complete mystery.