Real Madrid are champions of Europe again — but thoughts have already turned to renewing their squad for next season.
On Monday, they finally announced Kylian Mbappe’s free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain and Brazilian teenager Endrick is also joining them this summer to further boost the attacking options. But there are other targets and some players will be moving on, including midfielder Toni Kroos, who has played his last club match and retires after representing Germany at the European Championship.
So what positions will the winners of La Liga 2023-24 and last weekend’s Champions League final reinforce, who will be making the key decisions in the transfer market, and who goes to make room for the new guys?
What positions are they looking at this summer?
Madrid will reinforce their forward line with Kylian Mbappe and Endrick — the former has now signed as a free agent with his OSG contract expiring this summer and the latter will join up with his new team-mates from Brazilian team Palmeiras once he turns 18 on July 21.
They are also making moves in defence, targeting Lille’s Leny Yoro at centre-back and Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies. Madrid have made contact with both players but do not want to be dragged into a bidding war for Yoro, 18. The Frenchman was, however, at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday as Madrid lifted their record-extending 15th European Cup/Champions League. Davies has recently held more positive talks over extending his deal at Bayern.
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Club captain Nacho may leave at age 34 with his contract running out, but Madrid are considering using midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni at centre-back next season in case an extra man is needed in defence. Tchouameni, though, prefers to play in midfield. Jesus Vallejo will return after spending the season out on loan and has a contract until summer 2025, but his situation will not affect Madrid’s overall planning.
There are alternatives to Yoro and Davies in homegrown players Rafa Marin and Miguel Gutierrez.
Marin, a 22-year-old centre-back, went on loan to Alaves from Real Madrid Castilla — the club’s ‘B’ team, largely made up of youth players — with a view to returning to the first-team squad for pre-season this summer. The club are yet to decide whether he will stay despite good performances for midtable La Liga side Alaves.
No firm decision has been made yet either on Gutierrez, a 22-year-old left-back who impressed for Girona last season. He left for the Catalan club permanently in 2022 but from next month Madrid could bring him back for €8million ($8.6m; £6.8m), as revealed by The Athletic. Many clubs, especially from the Premier League, have shown an interest in him.
There are no midfield moves planned, despite Toni Kroos’ retirement — although they are closely monitoring River Plate’s 16-year-old Franco Mastantuono, who is an Argentina Under-17 international.
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Madrid have decided to exercise their option to sign Joselu permanently from Espanyol after his successful loan last season for a fee of €1.5million. The money involved was not a problem, and his attitude and performances delighted the club, coaching staff and dressing room.
What moves have they made already?
Endrick and Mbappe, as mentioned above. The deal to sign the Brazilian teenager was agreed in December 2022, but he has had to wait to move to Madrid. As things stand, Endrick will not even be able to train with his team-mates at their Valdebebas HQ before his 18th birthday — but he will be busy playing the Copa America with Brazil until then anyway.
Madrid agreed Mbappe’s move as a free agent in February, although the France captain has arrived with a significant signing-on bonus that means that — along with his salary — he has instantly become the best-paid player in the squad.
Who will make the key decisions this summer?
Club president Florentino Perez, chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez and chief scout Juni Calafat.
The latter two are more involved in deals. Calafat and his team produce in-depth analysis of potential targets, then add labels to the various reports. Sanchez only gets involved when a report is filed as ‘FICHAR’ — the Spanish word for ‘sign’ — as he is in charge of the accounts and the timings involved with each signing.
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But Perez is kept informed and is always asked for the final green light on transfers. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti is consulted from time to time but does not hold the keys to the decision-making.
Who will they be looking to sell?
Senior sources at the club — who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say there are no sales planned, but that doesn’t mean players won’t leave.
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There are doubts about Ferland Mendy. Madrid were previously willing to listen to offers for him given his persistent injury problems, but he appears to have put those behind him and his performances have improved. Don’t rule out the French left-back renewing his contract, which runs out in 2025.
Fran Garcia, another left-back, is not assured of his place in the squad either. Madrid brought back the academy product after exercising their buy-back clause when he was at Rayo Vallecano last year but he is seen as a weak link in defence.
Madrid would listen to offers for Dani Ceballos, who has shown his dissatisfaction over the little playing time he got last season — of senior players, only Eder Militao, Arda Guler and Thibaut Courtois played fewer than his 862 minutes, and they all had long spells out injured. But Madrid will not “give him away”, especially after Kroos’ departure from midfield, and there are not many Spanish clubs who could afford his salary.
Then there are those players who could leave if they wanted to. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is close to renewing his contract until 2029 yet could still end up departing. After Courtois’ late-season return from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury, the Ukrainian was back on the bench and his entourage described his situation as “a punch in the stomach”. They argue he has “a big market in Europe”, suggesting they are considering an exit.
In attack, the only player who seems open to leaving is Rodrygo. The Brazilian recently renewed his deal until 2028 but acknowledged in two interviews last week that “anything can happen”. A departure would depend more on him than the club, but for the moment Rodrygo’s camp insist he wants to be part of the “great project” planned for next season.
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Which players’ contracts are expiring? Who is expected to renew?
Arguably the biggest departure has been announced, with Kroos retiring this summer after the European Championship on home soil in Germany.
Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez were set to become free agents this summer but there were developments in both cases over the weekend. Modric agreed a one-year contract to keep him at the Bernabeu until 2025 and The Athletic reported Vazquez is set to accept a one-year deal, too.
We should also expect developments with captain Nacho. He told the board and manager Ancelotti months ago that he intended to leave and has not said otherwise since. The defender’s final decision will be known soon — he recently said that “the conditions are not always right to be a one-club man”.
Kepa Arrizabalaga will definitely leave. The Spain international goalkeeper signed on loan from Chelsea in August to deputise for the injured Courtois but lost his place in the team to Lunin and will now return to west London.
What sort of budget do they have?
It is unclear whether Madrid have a set budget as such, but sources within the club insist Mbappe’s arrival does not require another player to be sold.
Madrid also have the wherewithal to sign Yoro and Davies, although they are not prepared to overspend, given both players are on contracts that expire in 2025. As in the case of previous young signings such as Eduardo Camavinga, Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham, Madrid will want the pair to make clear to their clubs that they only want to move to the Bernabeu and that they will turn down better offers to do so.
Madrid took a financial hit with the effects of the pandemic and the €1.76billion cost of renovating their stadium. But, in their last official accounts, they said they expected increased revenue once this project was complete, meaning more money will be available for transfers.
The departures of senior players in recent years including Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard and now Kroos — all of whom were among Madrid’s highest earners — have also helped to free up space at the top of the squad’s salary scale.
What is the manager’s priority?
As stated, Ancelotti does not have control over transfers — as we saw last summer. The Italian asked Madrid to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur to replace Benzema, but the club did not make a serious move for the England captain, who ended up joining Bayern Munich.
The 64-year-old also asked for reinforcements at full-back, so he would welcome Davies’ signing. Yoro, meanwhile, is seen as a generational talent by everyone at Valdebebas.
Ancelotti would like to keep the players who have been key for him last season, including Mendy, Vazquez and Joselu. The coaching staff believe all three have earned the right to stay.
(Top photo: ANP via Getty Images)