It was an open secret that has finally been made official: Mikel Merino renews with the Royal Society until June 2025. The agreement between the parties was practically closed before everything stopped due to the global pandemic of the coronavirus. But before the declaration of the state of alarm everything was paralyzed, waiting for the negotiation to be finished when everything calmed down a bit, including the express end of the season. Now they have squared the agendas and it has not been difficult to sign the new contract of the Navarrese midfielder, which prolongs his relationship with Real for two more seasons, because it ended in 2023. In this way, the San Sebastian club shields one of its most important players of the staff, a fundamental piece for Imanol Alguacil, with a clause of 60 million euros.
For the Navarrese this renewal is a reward for his constant growth since his arrival at the Royal Society. “From the first day I arrived here they have been very happy moments, and I have felt at home. I have felt treated in a spectacular way with everyone, not only by the fans or the teammates, but by any citizen of Donosti who sees you, greets you and gives you any message of encouragement. These things come within and where you are happy, you want to be. This renewal for me is a joy and a way of recognizing the work that I have done in these years that I have been here, and I am super happy, very happy, and I hope I can be here for a long time, “he said on the website of the San Sebastian club.
Merino, who is closely followed by some of the main European clubs, will continue in La Real because although his clause is not excessively high, it does serve to scare away those potential interested in signing him by doubling his clause, from 30 to 60 million, the second highest of the realistic template. The Navarrese finished the season like a shot. “I feel good, I feel strong and I have climbed a notch in confidence. In the end what a player needs is to have minutes and confidence, and I have been lucky to find it here. I find chevrons on the team, people give them to me and a lot of people trust me. I feel comfortable in that role of carrying weight on the field, and of being strong in decision-making. In knowing that if I fail, nothing happens because I have teammates behind me, and as I say I think I can still give more and climb a couple more steps ”. And he has no intention, at least for the moment, of wanting to leave the Real. “I think I am in the ideal place to achieve it, I am a very familiar and close person, and the fact of coming to a club that has the values that I have, with young people around me who come a little with the same trajectory And the same idea makes it a special place for me because it is ideal for my aspirations, for what I want, and to grow as a player and as a person. I am in an environment that is as if I were at home, and it shows when it comes to playing and living, and both my family and I are delighted. “
Mikel Merino has been fundamental in the achievement of the European objective of the Royal Society. “It was clear that the team from the start of the season had one goal in mind, and that was to qualify for Europe, after we were so close last year and it was hard for us not to achieve it. To be able to finish this year in addition to this way and on top of such an agonizing way, you live much more, and it is a rush for everyone. For me personally it is an immense joy, and I believe that football owed us something for the year we were doing and the effort and enthusiasm that had been generated in the stadium ”. And he is already thinking of continuing to grow next season, in which the Real will participate in five competitions. “At the end of illusions you live, and that has also been seen. When people are excited and the players themselves are excited and believe in goals, things as beautiful as those that have happened this season happen. The one that comes continues to be a very exciting season, and the good thing we have is that we are a young and ambitious team, that although we have had a good season we are not stopping there, we want to continue living experiences and meeting new objectives ”, he says.
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