Real Madrid might be second in La Liga and struggling in the Champions League, but there are few more prestigious destinations in world football.
That is always the case when it comes to transfers — and will almost certainly be the case in 2025, too. But who are they interested in? Which positions are they looking to fill? And who will make the key decisions at the Santiago Bernabeu?
Here, The Athletic takes a look at their plans for 2025 — across both the January and summer windows.
What positions will they be looking at in 2025?
Real Madrid’s priorities for the coming winter and summer transfer window are a centre-back (they are already having talks for summer) and a right-back.
Before Dani Carvajal’s serious knee injury in October, the club was already combing the market for right-backs.
Their plans could change if David Alaba’s return does not work out well, as it could open up the possibility of signing another centre-back. The Austrian will try to start training with the squad in December, the one-year anniversary of his injury.
The development of academy defenders such as Joan Martinez, who impressed on the pre-season tour in the summer but then suffered a serious knee injury, Castilla’s Jacobo Ramon, and even Raul Asencio, who has impressed since his debut, will also be a factor.
Left-back is not a priority, but there are two market opportunities under study.
Are there any players they are already looking at?
The priority at right-back is Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool player is out of contract in June and he is allowed to sign a pre-contract from January 1.
Liverpool have been unable to renew his contract, which has generated pessimism at Anfield and optimism at the Santiago Bernabeu, although everything is still open.
Other names such as Tottenham’s Pedro Porro or Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong are under consideration. Sevilla’s Juanlu has also been mentioned in reports.
For the centre of defence, Aymeric Laporte is liked by coach Carlo Ancelotti, although his signing is not easy in financial terms.
Other players fit in with the club’s commitment to young talent, such as Vitor Reis, for whom information was requested from Palmeiras and his agents. However, there is no decision about him and Premier League clubs are leading the race. The same can be said for Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba — there have been no serious recent moves for him despite reports.
Former academy player Rafa Marin is seen as a good option as he knows the club, is not getting playing time at Napoli and Real Madrid have an affordable buy-back clause.
Alphonso Davies is another prominent name. Real Madrid reached a verbal understanding with his agents on what would be the terms of his signing for 2024 or 2025, as a free agent and with a signing bonus. Since then the situation has cooled, but recently the Spanish club has moved closer. The player has a lot of other suitors, too.
Should this route fail, there is also Miguel Gutierrez, an academy player who has excelled at Girona since 2022. As The Athletic revealed, Real Madrid have a buy-back clause of €8million (€10m from July) for him, much lower than what other teams would have to pay (€35m). There have been no movements for him though.
There have also been a lot of rumours about Florian Wirtz, a player who is very much liked but seems unfeasible because Bayer Leverkusen want more than €100million for him.
Who will they be looking to sell?
The board has maintained since last summer that there is no obligation to sell out of financial necessity.
However, this is also subject to how happy the players are. The club are usually open to negotiate when a player is not happy with his situation and a fair offer arrives. The first part happened with Dani Ceballos in the summer, but the second part did not, so he stayed. He could be one of those trying to leave in June.
There were also many rumours about Rodrygo as the main casualty of the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, but people close to the Brazilian always maintained that he would stay for at least one season, confident that his status would not change — which has worked out. If it were to change, he would study the situation.
If a left-back arrives, they will try to sell one from the current squad, with Fran Garcia as the main candidate.
What moves have they made already?
None.
Who will make the key decisions over the two windows?
Club president Florentino Perez, chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez, chief scout Juni Calafat and, more recently, Santiago Solari, the director of football, who is growing in presence.
Sanchez and Calafat 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.
But Perez is kept informed and is always asked for the final green light on transfers. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti is consulted occasionally but does not hold the keys to the decision-making.
Which players’ contracts are expiring? Who is expected to renew?
Jesus Vallejo, who is set to leave. He is not relied on but decided to stay last summer. Even Asencio is ahead of him now.
Lucas Vazquez has spent several seasons renewing his contract year after year. That is also his objective for this one, despite interest in Alexander-Arnold and other right-backs.
Luka Modric’s future will be much like the last three seasons — unclear until after March. Last year, his renewal was revealed in May.
What is the manager’s priority?
It is important to stress that what Ancelotti wants and asks for is hardly taken into account by the club, as was shown when he asked for Harry Kane to replace Karim Benzema and the board did not seriously move for him in June 2023.
Or when, after serious knee injuries to Eder Militao and David Alaba in August and December 2023, he asked for a centre-back in January 2024, which also failed to arrive. Nor did he arrive in the summer, when they failed to get Leny Yoro and no serious attempt was made to find an alternative.
Ancelotti believes he needs, at the very least, a centre-back and a right-back.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
