Real Madrid are set for a squad overhaul in the summer, and since Zinedine Zidane returned to the club just over a fortnight ago, they have been linked with a minimum £40m move for every person who has ever even looked at a football.
To mark the occasion, then, we’ve thrown together a list of all of the players who have been linked over the last 15 days. Spoiler: there’s a lot of them.
Eder Militao
Club: Porto
Cost: £43m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far: £43m
Only right to start with the one player that ?have actually signed so far, since there actually is one.
Eder Militao has joined Real on a deal until 2025, for a fee of around £43m.
Fair play lads, good deal for a promising player.
David De Gea
Club: Manchester United
Estimated Cost: £75m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £118m
Since returning to the Bernabeu, Zidane is reported to have been unimpressed with current stopper Thibaut Courtois, so it’s only natural ?links with De Gea – arguably the world’s best keeper at the moment – would materialise again.
Manchester United are keen to tie him down to a new contract as his current deal enters its final year, but if that doesn’t happen, then it seems feasible that ?Real could swoop.
You get the impression there might just be too many moving parts for this one to come off, however; Courtois would first need to be offloaded, United would have to agree to a fee, and De Gea would need to fancy it himself.
Nicolas Tagliafico
Club: Ajax
Estimated Cost: £30m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £148m
Born from Marcelo’s heavily reported reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, strong rumours have emerged linking ?Real with a move for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, after the Argentine played a part in knocking them out of the Champions League.
He’s made 21 Eredivisie appearances, as well as being a regular in Europe, so if they do find themselves needing a left-back, then there are few better or more realistic options on the market.
Milan Skriniar
Club: Inter
Estimated Cost: £85m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £233m
Since signing for Inter in 2017, Skriniar has burst onto the scene and established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world. As ever, it seems that ?has caught Real’s attention.
It’s unclear how much there is to speculation surrounding Raphael Varane’s future, but if he does depart, then Skriniar seems like a more than fitting heir – but they would almost certainly have to break the transfer record for a defender to land him.
Yes, he might cost even more than Virgil van Dijk did.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Club: Napoli
Estimated Cost: £90m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £323m
Linked strongly with Manchester United, Real Madrid are also reported to be ?in the hunt to sign Napoli’s excellent Kalidou Koulibaly, who is one of the best centre backs likely to be available to sign this summer.
Problem is, he’s going to cost MONEY. More than Skriniar, probably.
It’s been a bit quiet on this front of late, but it’s fun to accumulate all this, so we’ll chalk it up.
N’Golo Kante
Club: Chelsea
Estimated Cost: £80m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £403m
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Regardless of Chelsea’s poor recent form under Maurizio Sarri, there are few better midfielders in the world than N’Golo Kante.
A World Cup winner in the summer, his ability to tirelessly cover the entire pitch week after week has made him an indispensable asset to the Stamford Bridge side since his move from Leicester.
He’s been one of the names ?most commonly linked with Real since the return of his countryman in the hot seat, but with the Blues facing a two-window transfer ban, the last thing they’ll want to do is let one of their key men go. That said, if Real do want him, they are not likely to be deterred.
Kante has hinted he doesn’t fancy it mind, because he is a nice guy.
Miralem Pjanic
Club: Juventus
Estimated Cost: £70m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £473m
One of the more ambitious names on the list, Pjanic has been linked as a direct replacement for Toni Kroos, who many speculate could be heading to Manchester United or Bayern Munich as part of a squad facelift.
The claim is that Zidane is ?very keen on the Bosnian, and sees him as a centre piece of the squad in the years to come.
Whether or not it happens might just depend on how Juventus fare in this year’s Champions League, as they prepare for a quarter-final against Real’s conquerors Ajax.
Felipe Anderson
Club: West Ham
Estimated Cost: £50m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £523m
Really? ?Yes, it was a rumour.
Since arriving at the Irons for a club record £34m in the summer, Anderson has recovered from a slow start to establish himself as one of Manuel Pellegrini’s key players over the course of the season.
His impressive form has earned his way onto many a ‘Real Madrid transfer shortlist’ in the press, with the view being he could serve as a budget alternative to Eden Hazard, should that one fall through.
Paul Pogba
Club: Manchester United
Cost: £250m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £773m
Pogba has had a season of chequered form, but since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December, he has reclaimed his title of One of the Best Midfielders in the World, with his contributions reflecting the hefty transfer fee United paid to bring him back from Juventus in 2015.
Rumours linking him to Real have been weak at best, stemming from a throwaway comment about Real being a ‘?dream for anyone’, and if they did want to land him, then there’s no telling what sort of ridiculous fee United would ask for given they have absolutely no obligation to sell in the foreseeable future. We’ve just tried to guess, as that’s all everyone else seems to be doing..
Still, Florentino Perez can be a bit nuts when it comes to signings sometimes – who knows?
Adrien Rabiot
?Club: PSG
Estimated Cost: Free
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £773m
Free? FREE?!
Unless we see something absolutely remarkable, Adrien Rabiot will leave PSG on a free this summer. He hasn’t featured since December due to an ongoing dispute surrounding his contract, which expires in the summer, and has been linked with a multitude of major clubs.
One such reportedly interested party is…?you guessed it, Real Madrid. They’ll need to move quickly if they want him, but they are Real Madrid after all.
Weird that there’s no transfer fee involved…
Christian Eriksen
?Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Estimated Cost: £65m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £838m
Eriksen has frequently been linked with Real Madrid over the last year or so, and we were just looking like we’d seen the back of the tenacious rumour, when they went and re-appointed Zidane and brought it back to the surface.
Spurs haven’t messed about, though. Rumour has it they’re demanding a ?world record £200m for the Dane’s services, so it doesn’t look as if they’ll be too easy to negotiate with.
More realistically though, given the Dane has a year left on his contract, he is gettable – and Spurs would probably cave at the £65m mark.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Club: Lazio
Estimated Cost: £92m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £930m
Milinkovic-Savic has developed a reputation over the last two seasons as one of the most imposing, dynamic midfielders on the planet, and ?fleeting rumours have emerged linking him with the Zidane revolution among a host of other places.
He wouldn’t come cheap, but is expected to leave in the summer, and at just 24, could prove to be a long-term staple of their midfield.
They’re up to seven new midfielders now. Lovely.
Sadio Mane
Club: Liverpool
Estimated Cost: £100m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.03bn
Mane is reported to have been ‘monitored’ by Zinedine in recent weeks – and if that’s the case, then he will have been very impressed. On current form, with 20 goals in 38 games, he is one of the most effective attackers in the world.
Now Real’s ‘?primary target’, it seems the Reds have a fight on their hands to keep hold of the Senegalese enigma.
Eden Hazard
Club: Chelsea
Estimated Cost: £100m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.13bn
Here it is. The box office attraction. If we get nothing else from the summer transfer window, then please let us get confirmation of this one getting over the line so we can finally, mercifully, put it behind us.
Hazard has been linked with Real since before Zidane left in the first place last summer, and now with him returning, it only seems more likely to happen given that he’s entering the last year of his contract. ?Chelsea’s selling position is weakened, to say the least.
Similar to Kante, Chelsea won’t be keen to sell, but if he wants to go and the offer is there then their hands are likely to be tied.
Kylian Mbappe
?Club: PSG
Estimated Cost: £240m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.37bn
Of all the many (many) rumours that have arisen surrounding Real in the last couple of weeks, it’s the signing of Mbappe, more than any other, that has fans excited.
Reports of a move have gone into overdrive over the last couple of days, and while it would likely require a world record bid to convince PSG to part with the man they paid close to £100m for to sign from Monaco, he is already one of the best players in the world at just 20, having scored 31 goals in 35 appearances in Paris.
?Even Marca has ruled this one out mind – because €280m is probably too much.
Joao Felix
?Club: SL Benfica
Estimated Cost: £75m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.445bn
Since bursting onto the scene with Benfica at the start of the season, 19-year-old Felix has reportedly ?been chased by Real among a number of other major European sides, with his ten goals in 18 Primeira Liga appearances earning him a reputation as ‘the next Ronaldo’ among other bits of flattery.
Given the unrivalled budget and esteem they possess in the footballing circles, Real are better placed than any of their rivals to land Portugal’s latest wonderkid, should they choose to do so.
Raheem Sterling
?Club: Manchester City
Estimated Cost: £185m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.63bn
City’s Raheem Sterling, who has blossomed into one of the world’s best under the management of Pep Guardiola, is another who has been tipped as Real’s ?’main’ transfer target at one point or another in Zidane’s second spell.
19 goals in 40 appearances so far attest to the idea that he would certainly be a good signing, but with the financial backing and ambition City have, prying him away will be no small task – even for galactic powerhouses such as Real.
Mauro Icardi
?Club: Inter
Estimated Cost: £70m
Accumulated Transfer Cost So Far Because They Will Sign Everyone: £1.7bn
Rounding off our exhaustive, exhausting? list of Real’s rumoured targets is Inter renegade Mauro Icardi, who is set to depart San Siro after a spectacular fall-out with his current suitors.
Despite firing 15 goals in 28 appearances this season, he was stripped of the captaincy last month, and hasn’t appeared since the win over Parma on February 2nd. Real are thought to be ?leading the chase to bring him in and revive his career, so we’ll see how that one goes.
So, of course there’s absolutely no chance that Real Madrid will sign every single player on this list (we’ve probably missed a few too) for upwards of £1.7bn – we’ve simply accumulated the figures being bandied around for each player they’ve been linked with in an attempt to show how ridiculous it is.
Here’s their potential new team in snazzy lineup form.
They will do business, and they might even get some of the above. But see this as a warning – this is going to be a crazy summer.
Let’
