Enrique Sanz Álvaro Carreras moves away, Benfica demands 15 more million euros and Madrid stands firm
Both clubs have very different points of view regarding the player's value
In addition to the signings made by the white board of directors so far, Xabi Alonso has requested a final addition to restructure the merengue defensive line: a top-level left-back. The one chosen to take on this role, after some disputes in the Valdebebas offices, appears to be Álvaro Carreras.
The signing of Benfica's left-back is one of the most exciting operations Real Madrid has undertaken recently, but not everything would go as expected. Especially judging by the information published by the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, a source very close to this saga: after all, Álvaro Carreras plays for a Portuguese club.
According to this Portuguese publication, the executives led by Florentino Pérez would be willing to offer a total sum of €35 million plus bonuses for Álvaro Carreras this summer. In the upper echelons of Estádio da Luz, however, they remain firm in the demands they made clear from the first rumors surrounding this possible signing.
The sports management of "Las Águilas" won't let Álvaro Carreras leave unless any team interested in signing him pays the release clause stated in his contract. The €50 million ($54.4 million) exit barrier set for the former Real Madrid youth player causes some hesitation among the merengue bosses... making the operation currently on hold.
Major discrepancy
This isn't the first time Real Madrid has made a maximum offer that doesn't match the value estimated by a player's original club. This difference is even more striking due to the presence of a release clause whose accessibility is still being evaluated in the upper echelons of Santiago Bernabéu in recent days.
Xabi Alonso has requested the addition of a new left-back due to the competitive inconsistencies of Fran García and the footballing and physical doubts raised by Ferland Mendy. The urgency of the Tolosa coach to expand the options for that position would be the only reason that would lead Real Madrid to let go of their own restrictions in this "case".
This difference of fifteen million euros (€15 million, $16.3 million) is what would have stopped a signing that seemed imminent until very recently. Most news and opinion sources indicated that Real Madrid had reached an agreement with the Spanish defender, optimism that wasn't shared in the talks with Benfica.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid is making a final decision about Álvaro Carreras's future, the scouts led by Juni Calafat keep searching for alternatives to the Portuguese side's "3". The white sports management, even for signings that seem easier, always has a possible "plan B" in mind... in case of a failure in signing the first option.
More posts: