Transfer: Why Ancelotti blocked Real Madrid from signing Spanish striker

Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti reportedly blocked the signing of Spanish striker, Raul de Tomas, due to his behavior at Espanyol, El Nacional reports.

Ancelotti’s side were searching for a backup to captain Karim Benzema this summer and had set their sights on De Tomas.

De Tomas impressed last season for Espanyol, scoring 17 goals in 36 appearances and was coveted by a number of European sides.

Despite the 27-year-old being the top striker target, Real Madrid were in no rush to make an offer for him.

The Los Blancos ended up only signing defender Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco.

A move for De Tomas was blocked by Ancelotti and the reasons the Italian manager allegedly had reservations over the signing were that the former Real Madrid youth player was too individualist.

Alongside this, Real Madrid were not willing to meet the €40 million asking price by Espanyol for De Tomas.