Real Madrid reacted quickly after the end of the season, with the arrival of Xabi Alonso as coach, accompanied by two new recruits: Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Merengues have invested 70 million euros in total for these two players, but business has slowed down since.
The initial plan was to ensure that Alonso has most of its new rear line for the tournament in the United States, with the arrival of a left side. This left side was identified as Alvaro Carreras in Benfica, after an excellent second season at the Estadio Da Luz, but the negotiations were not easy.
A release clause of 50 million euros that Real Madrid does not want to pay
Real Madrid wanted to conclude an agreement for around 40 million euros, but Benfica has so far maintained its position: it wanted all of the 50 million euros provided in its release clause. Despite the rumors of an agreement, the Merengues could not recruit him before the tournament, and Benfica publicly confirmed that no agreement was in progress. Some suggest that Carreras, deeply unhappy with this situation, would have refused to play the last two games of the tournament, marking an unusual absence of the starting eleven of Benfica against Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Resumption of negotiations with Real Madrid for Carreras
According to Marca, Real Madrid took over the negotiations for Carreras. Presidents Rui Costa and Florentino Perez would be in charge of negotiations, and an agreement would be possible. For their part, Real Madrid and Carreras concluded a personal agreement a few weeks ago.
Competition at the left rear station
Ferland Mendy, injured, could leave the club Si Carreras arrives. Recent information indicates that Real Madrid will offer Mendy on the transfer market, leaving Carreras in competition with Fran Garcia. The latter was one of the surprises of the tournament for Xabi Alonso and was elected man of the match in the quarter -final of the Club World Cup.
