‘I wanted to keep it’ – Real Madrid star confirms he swapped shirts with Blancos teammate

Real Madrid star Dani Carvajal has revealed that, though he was keen to keep hold of his latest international jersey, he ultimately came to the decision to swap it with a fellow member of Los Blancos’ ranks.

Carvajal, for his part, is fresh off an evening to remember on Saturday.

Afforded a place in Spain’s XI in the country’s Euro 2024 opener, the defender conjured up another fine display from his berth at right-back.

En route to an eventual 3-0 rout for La Roja at the expense of Croatia, Carvajal even managed to get himself on the scoresheet late in the first-half.

After breaking free in the Croatian penalty area, the 32-year-old was picked out by way of a gorgeous Lamine Yamal delivery, making no mistake with his sliding finish beyond Dominik Livaković.

Collective importance for Spain aside, this marked a special moment for Carvajal from an individual standpoint, in marking his very first goal at international level.

And, speaking post-match, the stopper went on to reveal that, as a result, he was eager to keep hold of his match-worn shirt.

In the end, though, Carvajal gave as much up, owing to a request from one of his teammates at club level.

“I wanted to keep my shirt, because it was my first goal with the national team,” the former Bayer Leverkusen man began, as cited by Relevo. “But Luka (Modrić) asked to exchange shirts so of course I did it.”

Conor Laird | GSFN