The former
England full-back on life as a director at Real Mallorca, who face
Barcelona on Saturday night as La Liga returns
Back in September Real Mallorca left-back Baba Rahman, on loan from
Chelsea, suffered a knee injury in his second game and didn’t play again. In January, they signed the left-back Leonardo Koutris on loan from Olympiakos, and in his second game he suffered a knee injury and didn’t play again either. That left Lumor Agbenyenu, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, as the only natural left-back at the club with La Liga’s smallest budget, playing in primera for the first time in six years and dangerously close to going down again. And now he’s injured too. There’s no one left.
Well, there is one man. The problem is, while the other left-back at Mallorca won the league and a Cup Winners’ Cup – more than anyone in the side – he’s not on the bench or in the B team; he’s in the boardroom. He’s also 51 and although that’s 51 going on 15, with the same youthful face as the days he flew up the wing, coach Vicente Moreno isn’t convinced. “I put my name forward, but they still haven’t replied,” Graeme Le Saux says. Then he starts laughing, which is something he does a lot.