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Four in, many out – Rating Real Madrid’s 2025 summer transfer window
Real Madrid were one of the busiest clubs in the recent transfer window, not in terms of the number of signings but in terms of the value of the operations involved.
After a season where they disappointed, Florentino Perez did not hold back in pooling all his resources to strengthen departments where they lacked. Real Madrid, thus, enter the new season stronger than they have ever been in recent times.
Four new arrivals and a few departures later, the men in white now have a squad that is well-rounded and has backups in almost all positions on the field.
More importantly, it hands Xabi Alonso a grand stage and foundation to build his project on and it will be interesting to see how the transfer decisions of this summer pan out in the long run.
Arrivals
Dean Huijsen
Real Madrid’s biggest signing of the summer by some distance, Dean Huijsen has slotted into the Merengues’ plans like he was always meant to.
In a matter of months, he has made himself the leader of their defence and the fact that he has done it at 20 years of age proves the quality he possesses. The Spaniard may well have cost close to €60 million, but early signs show that he is worth every penny and more.
While Huijsen has proven to be a pillar in defence for Real Madrid, his ball-playing abilities perfectly slot into Xabi Alonso’s plans and help fill the team’s void of a deep playmaking presence. The team, thus, may well have killed two birds with one stone.
Transfer rating: 9
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The right-back’s situation at the club after his summer arrival is probably the most ambiguous of the four new signings, and surprisingly so because he was the biggest name of the four new players who arrived.
The player has indeed started games rather regularly under Xabi Alonso, but there continues to be a sense that he is struggling to fit in, especially with the team missing a target man to get on the end of his crosses.
The return of Dani Carvajal has further complicated his situation with Trent now facing a serious threat to a starting spot. While the deal may well pay off in the long run, the initial signs are not as positive as Real Madrid would have hoped.
Transfer rating: 7
Franco Mastantuono
The teenage star has entered Real Madrid amid serious hype and there is reason to believe he could be the team’s new threat down the right wing for a long time to come.
Mastantuono was the last Real Madrid player to join training but wasted no time in making his debut, a testament to the quality he is showing in training.
Consistency must indeed develop, but he will be prepared to take more risks and show off his talent as his confidence grows in the coming weeks. At just 18 years of age, he has left a strong initial impression and it will be interesting to see how he grows in the coming months.
Transfer rating: 8
Alvaro Carreras
Real Madrid’s new left-back has gone on to become a bona fide starter for Xabi Alonso and the level he has shown in just three official games is extremely promising.
Carreras’ work rate is off the charts over the 90 minutes and he has proven to be as potent an attacking threat as a defensive linchpin. The club spent big on him, but so far, it seems to be a transaction worth making him the second most expensive defender in Real Madrid’s history.
Transfer rating: 8.5
Departures
Luka Modric
Perhaps the most gutting departure of them all for Real Madrid this summer was that of Luka Modric – the Croatian talisman and club legend who will go down in history as one of the players who defined an era for Los Blancos.
His seemingly endless longevity appeared to be enough to secure him another renewal at the club this summer, but with Xabi Alonso and the board agreeing that it is time to encourage a new generation to bud, the player was forced to part ways.
The team will never be the same without Modric on the field as a game-changing presence but it was a much-needed farewell for Los Blancos as they pass the baton to younger stars.
Transfer rating: 7
Lucas Vazquez
Another player whose contract ran out this summer after he was not renewed was Lucas Vázquez, and the player left the club after the FIFA Club World Cup as a free agent to start a new chapter in his career.
With the arrival of Trent and the return of Carvajal, Vazquez’s role at the club would have been redundant, and letting go of him for free was indeed the best decision for all parties involved.
Transfer rating: 8
Jesus Vallejo
The final player from the first team who left the club in the summer was Jesus Vallejo who quietly saw his contract run out and called it time on his Real Madrid stint.
Given that the player was virtually nonexistent in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans in recent years, his departure does not imply a whole lot to the club but does indeed do its part in terms of removing his wages.
Transfer rating: 8
Youth player exits
In addition to the high-profile moves of the first team, Real Madrid oversaw several player sales over the summer that helped with the club’s finances by bringing in massive revenue. Here are the key departures and the revenues they helped generate.
Alvaro Rodriguez packed his bags to join Elche in the summer for €2 million for 50% of his rights. Victor Munoz left Real Madrid for a fee of €6 million to join Osasuna on a permanent transfer.
Rafel Obrador left for Benfica in a deal that saw Los Blancos rake in a fee of €5 million as the initial payment. VfB Stuttgart pounced on Chema Andres and gave him a spot in the top tier of German football in a deal worth close to €3 million.
Yusi, the 19-year-old Moroccan talent left to join Deportivo Alaves with the Merengues again receiving a fee of close to €3 million in the process. Jacobo Ramon now plays for Como who coughed up €2.5 million for his services.
Marvel moved to Leganes for a nominal fee. In addition, the club also bid adieu to some big names from the academy in Mario Martin, Lorenzo Aguado, Baba Diocou and David Ruiz amongst others, all of whose transactions did not involve transfer fees.
Considering that Real Madrid retain percentages and buyback clauses for these players, and managed to generate significant revenue, it can be considered good business.
Conclusion
Real Madrid came out all guns blazing at the start of the summer window, securing deals for Trent, Huijsen, and Mastantuono, before landing Carreras as well, in the process improving in positions seen as a concern.
The departure of Modric does leave a hole, and while Real Madrid might have benefitted from signing another midfielder, the overall transfer business this summer can be seen as a huge positive.
It sets things up nicely for Xabi Alonso to bring major trophies back to the Santiago Bernabeu after a rather lean season last time out.
The derby weekend is here as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are set to lock horns on Sunday afternoon at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
After an eventful transfer window and a stuttering start, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their position as genuine title contenders and have done decently well so far this season.
With four wins, a draw and a defeat to their name, they sit on 13 points after six games.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have only had one defeat and are on 15 points after as many games, only behind Barcelona who sit on a perfect record.
Diego Simeone’s men had a shaky start to the season, but have picked up steam in recent weeks with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.
Given their strong record against Real Madrid at home, they will look to take all three points tomorrow.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
A test away from home
It is no secret that Real Madrid’s form on the road this season has been poor, not necessarily for the results themselves but how the team have conducted themselves in away grounds.
For the first time in years, there appears to be a sense of uncertainty around Los Blancos’ ability to produce results away from home.
For long periods in the game, they appear willing to hand over the momentum, and the resultant pressure has seen them collapse.
A last-gasp winner from Carlos Espi handed them the win against Espanyol away from home, and they went on to lose against Real Betis in their second away fixture of the season.
Most recently, they bottled a 2-0 lead against Elche and again required a stoppage-time winner from Espi to take the three points.
Tomorrow’s game, in that sense, is extremely challenging, for it is not only away from home but against an opposition of high quality.
Playing Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano is as challenging as games get, and Real Madrid have an extremely poor record at the venue.
Since 2017, Real Madrid have only won twice at the Metropolitano with three defeats and three draws. Last season, they suffered a 5-2 defeat and the game went on to break the team’s momentum.
Heading into such a tricky clash with an ongoing crisis away from home makes Sunday’s clash very complicated for the Merengues.
Arda Guler has to return
After a long time, Jose Mourinho took the Yan Diomande experiment to the next level and handed the player back-to-back starts for Real Madrid.
Clearly, the new signing still has a long way to go in terms of his adaptation, but he has been promising as an attacking outlet in his few appearances.
Diomande started both against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, but there is a strong case to drop him for the Madrid derby and play Arda Guler instead.
The Turkish international was on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and played as a No. 10 against Elche, with Jude Bellingham rested. Now, with the Englishman set to return, the manager has a decision to make.
Mourinho has made it clear that he wishes to ease Diomande into Real Madrid’s dynamics to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. Fielding him from the start in a derby would contradict that idea.
Beyond that, however, Guler has shown far more utility and promise as an attacking and creative outlet than Diomande, making the right-wing decision quite clear for the manager.
Real Madrid with and without Guler have been two completely different stories this season, and the team will require every last bit of creative inspiration that he has in him to get past Atletico Madrid tomorrow afternoon.
There is also a case for Brahim Diaz to be brought in, and the Moroccan star is also probably ahead of Diomande on the pecking order. Guler, however, stands out as a top option even ahead of Brahim.
Eyes on Vinicius Jr.
For years, Vinicius Jr. has always utilised the big stages to make his statements, for he has been a player to speak through performances and not words.
For instance, he scored a stunning solo goal last season against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup at a time when he was least expected to do so. At that point, he had not scored in 16 straight games, but the big moment called out to him.
It is clear that the Brazilian is not going through his best moment right now once again. The past few weeks have been hard on him, especially after he did well at the World Cup and returned to Madrid with higher expectations on him.
So far this season, Vinicius has only scored one goal in seven games. Beyond the goals, however, he has not looked like his usual threatening self on the flank and has not created half as many chances as he usually would.
Such is the player’s situation that his place in the team is being called into doubt for the first time in years. After all, Yan Diomande can play on the left and showed glimpses of his ability in the previous game.
All eyes, thus, will be on Vinicius on Sunday to see if he can step up to the occasion and make his presence felt when it really matters. He has always been one for the big stage, and tomorrow’s stage is the biggest yet this season.
