Real Madrid hero Joselu reveals that he still loves Stoke

He might be Real Madrid’s Champions League hero now, but a part of Joselu’s heart will always be in stoke.

The striker came off the bench to score two late against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night (May 8), taking Los Blancos to the final and leaving another former Stoke player, Maxim Choupo-Moting, now playing for Bayern, dejected.

It has to be the biggest moment of Joselu’s career to date – but despite going on to bigger things, he still looks back very fondly at his time with Stoke.

Speaking to the Guardian recently, he looked back at his 2015/16 season at the Potteries by saying: “That was a good year: we finished ninth, beat City and United and reached the [League] Cup semi-final, only losing on penalties at Anfield … I played with good footballers: Crouch, [Marko] Arnautovic, Jonny Walters.”

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The striker went on to say: "I loved Jonny Walters. He fought, he was committed, physically he was a beast, he scored over a hundred goals. Crouch was an incredible guy. Jude [Bellingham] calls me Crouchy now because I’m a tall striker who likes a cross. Others followed Jude and it’s stuck. But he’s 2 metres tall, I’m only 1.92. Crouch was very funny and helped me a lot. Boy, I had good times with him.

“It was hard [to leave] because I had got to know everyone there but they were looking for a shift in style. I still follow Stoke. They just can’t quite get back to the Premier League. The players have gone but I have loads of friends there. I had people from Stoke at my wedding, people from Newcastle too.”

Joselu’s introduction to the game changed the tie completely on Wednesday night, with Madrid trailing 1-0 in the game and 3-2 on aggregate. He slotted home following a spilled shot from Manuel Neuer, before he tapped home from an Antonio Rudiger cross.

Joselu played 27 games in all competitions for Stoke during the 2015/16 season, scoring seven goals. He later moved to Newcastle before joining Real Madrid on loan from Espanyol at the start of the 2023/24 season.

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