Barcelona and Real Madrid set to battle for Marseille wonderkid Maxime Lopez

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to go to war over the signature of Marseille teenage sensation Maxime Lopez, according to reports in Catalonia. The 19-year-old is the latest in a long line of talented young French players and has been compared to Nou Camp legend Andres Iniesta.

However, Sport report that Real Madrid have the advantage in the race for his signature, as Lopez’s childhood hero was Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane. 

Also the 1998 Ballon d’Or-winner is a fan of the Marseille ace as well. Speaking in March, Zidane said of Lopez: “He is small, but his style of plat is fascinating. “I really like his personality. “He runs a lot, sacrifices himself and allows others to play.”

On the other hand in Barcelona‘s favour is that another Andoni Zubizarreta a Nou Camp icon is the man in charge of transfers at Marseille, and he would likely favour a move to Catalonia for Lopez. 

Furthermore, the youngster is close friends with Ousmane Dembele. Real Madrid have had the upper hand when it comes to signing youngsters in recent seasons. They famously beat Barcelona to the signing of Marco Asensio and last summer also came out on top in battle for Dani Ceballos. Maxime Lopez is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 side Marseille and the France national under-20 football team. He is an academy graduate of Marseille and made his debut for the club in August 2016, aged 18.