Florentino Chooses Center-Back and It's Top, Real Madrid Will Sign Him No Matter the Cost

One of the most concerning issues for Real Madrid this season is the generational change. The irregular results of the team coached by Carlo Ancelotti, as well as the injuries and absences recorded during the current season, would have motivated a shift in focus for the sports management. Now the main priority is to add players to this area.

The first step to maintain a high number of players in the defense of the first white team is Trent Alexander-Arnold. The signing of Liverpool's '66', who would arrive as a free agent at the end of the current soccer season, would trigger a series of signings that would continue with a high-category central defender.

Real Madrid's president, Florentino Pérez, would have already chosen the footballer who will be their main target during the summer transfer market of 2025. The situation of the current central defenders at Real Madrid offers little prospect of continuity and longevity beyond the next three seasons. The only veteran player who would withstand that long in the merengue locker room is an imperial Antonio Rüdiger.

The discreet performance of David Alaba, as well as his irregular physical condition after a very long and complicated injury, would have almost completely eliminated the possibility of extending his contract. The Austrian footballer will leave in the summer of 2026, leaving just three players in the central defense line: Rüdiger, Militão, and Asencio.

No Better Option

To avoid what happened in previous seasons, including this one, the offices at Valdebebas have decided to look for the ideal footballer. The player at the top of the list of potential signings is one of the best central defenders in the European soccer elite and fits almost all the requirements. The name of William Saliba returns strongly to the merengue orbit in the context of the changes following the defeat in the Copa del Rey final.

According to the information published by the newspaper MARCA, the unanimity in the signing of William Saliba would have grown over the weeks. So much so that Florentino Pérez would be prepared to do "anything" to obtain Saliba's signing during the summer of 2025. This sports outlet warns that Arsenal's '2' "is the chosen one".

Even William Saliba himself would be aware of the importance he has for the white sports management's roadmap in the summer transfer market of 2025. The offices at Valdebebas understand that the French defender is the ideal footballer to join Santiago Bernabéu locker room, a circumstance that the gunner bosses know firsthand... and will use to their advantage in the field of financial demands.

Because the desired transfer for William Saliba, according to several media outlets, could be equal to or exceed 100M euros. That figure seemed, initially, unacceptable for the white executives... but that change announced by MARCA, with Real Madrid willing to do anything to sign him, could break down the obstacles that have kept the club from making his incorporation effective.