Real Madrid News
Potential Carlo Ancelotti replacement has special Real Madrid clause in his contract
Real Madrid have started the season on a positive note and look like favourites in the race for the league title, as we approach the third international break of the campaign.
However, irrespective of Real Madrid’s position at the end of the season, one would think that the club are in for a major overhaul in the coming summer.
That overhaul may include a change of manager, with Carlo Ancelotti’s contract expiring at the end of the season, and Real Madrid are already on the hunt to find a replacement.
One of the coaches in contention to replace Ancelotti next season is Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard is currently coaching Bayer Leverkusen and has been highly successful with Die Werkself in this early part of the season.
Xabi Alonso’s clause at Leverkusen
According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, Xabi Alonso has a special clause in his Bayer Leverkusen contract that might allow him to join Real Madrid on a cut-price deal.
Alonso’s current deal at Leverkusen expires in 2026, meaning the Spaniard’s contract could make him expensive in the market.
However, for Real Madrid, there is a special concession. As per the report, Alonso has a clause in his Bayer Leverkusen deal that might allow him to join Madrid for a fee of just €15 million.
This is merely a follow-on from an earlier report that suggested that this clause can be activated by not just Real Madrid, but also his former clubs Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Bayern, though, already have a project going with Thomas Tuchel while Liverpool are also set with Jurgen Klopp, at least for now.
That leaves Real Madrid with an excellent opportunity to nab one of the finest young coaches in Europe for a cut-price deal.
Real Madrid’s main goal heading into the summer transfer window was to wrap up the signing of Jude Bellingham amid massive interest from Premier League giants such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s City, especially, were ready to match and increase any salary Madrid offered, and were going strongly into the bidding war.
Eventually, Bellingham decided to join Madrid after they reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for €3 million.
However, following this, los blancos had to improvise a fair bit as Karim Benzema decided to leave the club to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer. They were expecting him to continue for another season, at least, and it stumped their plans in the market.
In the next few weeks, Madrid chased forwards, and ended up signing Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and a certain Arda Guler, who was close to Barcelona before eventually ending up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for Madrid, he is yet to play a single minute for the club after picking up a serious injury in pre-season. Despite being on the bench for a couple of games, Guler suffered a relapse in training, and was sidelined again.
Now, reports from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu say that the Turkish international is close to returning to team training.
Guler has slowly, but surely, been recovering from his injury, and could take to the pitch for his first minutes with the club in the next few weeks as Madrid look for solutions after a month full of injuries.
With Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois all out until early 2024, Madrid have relied on Castilla for reinforcements, but could do with Guler’s services in their forward line.
That said, Carlo Ancelotti and co. are expected to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Turkish international. The slightest spell of poor man-management here could make or break the youngster’s career.
