Real Madrid summer transfers review: Mbappe bolsters attack but does Yoro blow leave them short?
The European transfer window is shut until January and there was no late business for Real Madrid — but this was a summer of change at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe finally arrived from Paris Saint-Germain and Endrick joined the squad at last after turning 18. The biggest departure was that of Toni Kroos, with the 34-year-old German announcing his retirement from football at the end of last season.
So, what did we learn from the Spanish and European champions’ transfer window? Our Real Madrid reporter Mario Cortegana unpacks it all.
What happened in the transfer window for Madrid?
Four players left the club — Kroos, Nacho, Joselu and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The first two were told they could renew if they wanted to, as club legends, but both decided against it. The latter two cases were different as they were on loan, from Espanyol and Chelsea respectively.
Madrid decided to exercise their buy option of around €1.5million for Joselu, but ended up doing that to facilitate his departure to Al Gharafa of Qatar. Arrizabalaga was hoping to be re-signed and was waiting to see if Andriy Lunin left and so gave him the chance to return, but the Ukrainian has stayed — although he’s yet to renew his deal after Thibaut Courtois reclaimed his No 1 spot following a long-term knee injury last term.
Kroos has not been replaced in midfield, and Madrid did not sign a centre-back after target Leny Yoro chose to join Manchester United instead for a maximum fee of €70million (£59m/$77.4m). Sources at Madrid — who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — said they had been counting on the young Frenchman’s arrival from Ligue 1 side Lille, which is why they sold academy defender Rafa Marin to Italy’s Napoli.
Yoro joined United despite interest from Madrid (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
There were no significant moves for Alphonso Davies, despite Madrid reaching a verbal agreement earlier this year for Bayern Munich’s Canada international left-back to join them. Madrid felt the potential fee to sign the 23-year-old this summer was too high — reports suggested it would be more than €50m — and thought it was better to wait for him to arrive as a free agent after this season if he does not renew with Bayern before then.
The long-awaited move for Mbappe was made official — on a free transfer after his PSG deal expired but with a significant signing-on bonus reportedly worth in the region of €100million — and Endrick ended his wait to become a Madrid player, having put pen to paper in December 2022. Those arrivals did not lead to any exits in attack, despite continuous rumours throughout the window.
Ferland Mendy’s renewal has been agreed and sources say there will be no problem with agreeing Dani Carvajal’s — his current contract expires next summer.
A few academy players to have featured for the first team left. Alvaro Rodriguez and Mario Martin went on loan to Getafe and Real Valladolid respectively while Nico Paz and Juanmi Latasa were sold to Como in Italy and Real Valladolid, although Madrid retain a right of first refusal and buy-back clause on Paz.
How pleased will they be with this summer’s business?
Depends on who at Madrid you ask.
The board are always reluctant to spend as they look to maintain balanced accounts, and also think this squad has the potential to win lots of titles. They say Madrid will resort to calling up youngsters from the academy in the case of an injury crisis, although in practice this has not often been the case.
While in public he always supports the club’s decisions, head coach Carlo Ancelotti believes his squad is missing at least one centre-back. The Italian also asked for an addition to his staff but the board suggested he rely on someone already in-house.
Fans have been left with the sense of incomplete work, especially given the absence of a new centre-back.
How has Mbappe slotted in after finally signing?
The first impressions were great, with the club highlighting how he behaved at his presentation in front of 80,000 fans at the Bernabeu and in private, face-to-face meetings at the Valdebebas training complex. They said he was constantly smiling and seemed intelligent.
He scored a goal and picked up a title in his very first game for Madrid, the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta last month. But he then failed to score in his first three La Liga appearances, even showing his disapproval with team-mate Vinicius Junior at points in the third one, a 1-1 away draw against Las Palmas.
Mbappe with his UEFA Super Cup winners’ medal (Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But, at all levels of the club, there are no doubts about Mbappe’s ability. He showed that on Sunday, as he finally got his first La Liga goals in a 2-0 home win against Real Betis. “The goal is titles,” Mbappe said in the mixed zone afterwards. “I have to score in every game.”
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How did Manchester United beat them to Yoro and why did Madrid then not move for another centre-back?
Madrid showed overconfidence in their pursuit of Yoro.
Hours before informing them he was going to United, the player had been telling Madrid he only wanted to move to the Bernabeu. That prompted the board to move very slowly with their counterparts at Lille, only going as high as an offer of €25million to €35m in negotiations with them.
Then, when Madrid and Lille were at an impasse, United’s approach changed everything. Madrid said Yoro’s decision to move to Old Trafford is logical, given he would not have earned as much with them — but it was still surprising after he had made his desire to come to the Spanish capital clear.
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No other centre-backs convinced the board, whether from a financial standpoint or in terms of their potential. Ancelotti saw things differently, but once again he was superseded by those above him in the hierarchy.
Are there any other weaknesses in the team after this summer?
As mentioned above, centre-back is the one position which needed strengthening.
Ancelotti only has two fit players there at present, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger. The injury-prone Jesus Vallejo is not in his plans after returning from another loan at Granada, and David Alaba will only be back in November at the earliest after his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee surgery late last year.
It is easy to say Madrid are missing a replacement for Kroos as well, but there’s simply nobody like the German and, if there were, his price would be out of the question, even for the European champions.
Madrid feel they have the players and profiles in that position to deal with the season ahead.
(Top photo: Getty Images)
