Real Madrid News
Real Madrid ready to battle Liverpool and Bayern Munich for €50 million-rated Austrian star
It is no secret that Real Madrid have identified midfield as a weak spot, even as the club boast some of gifted attackers in the world.
While the midfield is no slouch, Real Madrid have struggled to find a proper replacement for Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
As such, the club continue to keep an eye on the market for new targets, one of which is Paul Wanner.
Real Madrid join Paul Wanner pursuit
According to Liverpool Echo, Real Madrid have joined Liverpool and Bayern Munich in the race to sign Paul Wanner.
The central midfielder currently plies his trade for PSV Eindhoven. Formerly a product of the Bayern Munich academy, Wanner has enjoyed exceptional success since joining PSV in 2025.
He has racked up over 40 appearances, scoring five goals while assisting five times. He has impressed onlookers with his technical abilities, thus making him an ideal target for Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants, though, are facing intense competition from the likes of Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Not to mention, signing Wanner will be expensive, with the player reportedly valued at around €50 million.
An ideal signing for Real Madrid?
At a time when Real Madrid have struggled finding the desired replacement for Kroos and Modric, signing someone like Wanner could be the need of the hour.
The Austrian can provide the technical quality in the middle of the park and make it easier for Real Madrid in the transition from defence to attack.
Real Madrid’s pursuit of Wanner also falls in line with recent reports that suggest the club could go big for a new midfielder next summer.
Real Madrid, in fact, are readying an outlay of up to €120 million for a new midfielder next summer. Keeping that in mind, spending €50 million on someone like Wanner could prove to be a smart long-term investment for Los Blancos.
Real Madrid News
Stats: VAR has disallowed more than twice as many Real Madrid goals as Barcelona’s since 2018
It has been almost a decade since VAR was introduced in the Spanish top flight, but the controversies simply do not seem to stop.
Clubs have constantly debated the inconsistencies of decisions made using technology and whether it actually adds something positive to the game.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid have had 42 goals overturned by VAR since the technology was introduced in La Liga, more than any other club in the competition.
Madrid lead the ranking by a considerable margin, with Barcelona having just 19 goals disallowed through technological intervention.
Real Madrid comfortably lead VAR statistics
Since VAR’s introduction in the 2018-19 season, referees have initially awarded 42 Madrid goals that were subsequently ruled out following video reviews.
Atletico Madrid and Villarreal are joint second with 22 each, followed by Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad and Sevilla with 20 apiece.
Barcelona sit seventh with 19, meaning Madrid have experienced 23 more VAR goal reversals than their biggest rivals.
The figures cover eight completed seasons and the beginning of the current campaign. Madrid’s latest disallowed goal came during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal.
Vinicius Junior appeared to double the hosts’ advantage, but VAR identified an earlier incident in the same move in which the Brazilian pulled defender Nathan Saliba’s hair.
Referee Isidro Diaz de Mera reviewed the footage on the pitchside monitor, cancelled the goal and sent Vinicius off.
The numbers need greater context
The numbers are striking, but they do not necessarily tell the complete story about Real Madrid or the quality of Spanish refereeing.
One important factor to consider when interpreting these numbers is Los Blancos’ attacking style.
Over recent seasons, Madrid have frequently relied on quick transitions, exploiting space behind opposition defences through explosive forwards such as Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo.
Players making repeated runs beyond the defensive line are naturally more exposed to marginal offside decisions, particularly when attacks depend on perfectly timed passes at high speed.
That does not mean every disallowed Madrid goal involved offside. However, the team’s direct attacking approach offers a plausible explanation for why such situations might arise more frequently.
Madrid also create numerous attacking opportunities, making raw totals less informative without comparing disallowed goals against total goals scored and the reasons behind each VAR intervention.
VAR corrections do not settle Madrid’s refereeing concerns
These VAR decisions also do not answer Madrid’s growing concerns with the consistency of refereeing decisions in La Liga.
Madrid’s complaints concern the application of VAR in different games under similar circumstances, not simply the merits of individual decisions.
The Villarreal incident offers a clear example of VAR correcting an initial decision, but it does not explain why it did not punish Stole Dimitrievski in a similar situation against Vinicius.
There is a lot that needs to be addressed in La Liga, both in terms of on-field refereeing and the use of VAR.
It remains to be seen whether Madrid’s repeated complaints force the federation to improve the standards in La Liga and how the situation pans out through the course of the season.
