One A, Two C’s—Grading Real Madrid’s 2026 Summer Transfer Window
There were no late surprises involving Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, with Los Blancos’s business already wrapped up.
Madrid were early movers in the market, as re-elected president Florentino Pérez oversaw a summer of change that included six first-team arrivals and the re-appointment of José Mourinho as manager, following two bitterly disappointing seasons without a trophy.
With around €225 million ($260 million) spent on transfers, it’s been Madrid’s biggest outlay on players in a single window since 2019, highlighting Pérez’s statement of intent.
dark. FREE NEWSLETTER. New SI FC Newsletter Global Embed. Sign Up to Get Informed With SI FC
Real Madrid Transfers 2026–27
Player | Position | Signed From | Transfer Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
Marc Cucurella | LB | Chelsea | €55 million ($63 million) |
Denzel Dumfries | RB | Inter Milan | €20 million ($23 million) |
Ibrahima Konaté | CB | Liverpool | Free |
Bernardo Silva | CM | Manchester City | Free |
Yan Diomande | RW/LW | RB Leipzig | €125 million ($145 million) |
Carlos Espí | ST | Levante | €25 million ($29 million) |
So far, it’s been so good, with Mourinho enjoying a three-game winning streak to kick off his return.
The nerves of the opening day’s late-show 2–1 win over Espanyol appeared to dissipate with four-goal wins over Real Sociedad and Málaga, and Madrid now trail Barcelona at the top of La Liga only on goal difference.
But, how have the new signings looked so far, and how well suited do they appear to Madrid’s goal of re-establishing themselves as world soccer’s top dog?
Here’s every one of Real Madrid’s summer transfers, graded.
Marc Cucurella
A transfer that just made sense.
After struggling to get consistency out of Álvaro Carreras and Fran García—plus Ferland Mendy’s never-ending injury drama—it was clear that Madrid needed an upgrade at left back this summer.
Mourinho reportedly told Pérez that it was Cucurella or no-one for the role and the president dutifully went out and brought in the 27-year-old World Cup winner from Chelsea for a surprisingly reasonable fee (relatively).
Cucurella’s ability to defend, attack and really wind up opponents is near-unmatched and he feels like a perfect fit for Mourinho’s team, despite his previous Barcelona connections.
Grade: A+
Denzel Dumfries
Like Cucurella, this was a deal wrapped up before the end of the World Cup, with Madrid moving to activate the Netherlands international’s contractual release clause.
A rare older purchase for Madrid at the grand old age of 30, Dumfries is long established as one of Europe’s top attacking full backs/wingbacks and has twice been a Serie A winner with Inter Milan.
He has also played in two Champions League finals—though he was on the losing side both times—and endeared himself to Madrid fans when he terrorized Barcelona in the 2024–25 semifinals.
He adds competition for Trent Alexander-Arnold following Dani Carvajal’s departure, but doesn’t really bring any more defensive nous to the table—the Englishman’s main weakness. Expect plenty of lung-busting overlaps, but Europe’s biggest and best may well continue to target Madrid’s right back area as place where they can get joy.
Grade: B-
Ibrahima Konate
After months of speculation over whether he would stay at Liverpool or not, Konaté eventually decided to leave Anfield, with Madrid ready and waiting to snap him up.
The shrewd free deal has been a staple of Madrid’s recent strategy and there is hope that the 6'5" Konaté can follow the examples set before him and make a meaningful contribution to a backline that needs obvious improvement.
At his best, Konaté is an elite physical defender, who can battle with the best of them, cover swathes of ground in a few strides and win the majority of his aerial duels with ease.
The issue is that Konaté has not been his best self for some time and few Liverpool fans were left in tears over his departure. Such was his poor form, the center back barely featured for France at the World Cup, starting only the 6–4 Bronze final defeat to England—hardly the greatest showcase of his defensive solidity.
Mourinho’s ability to tease out his confidence and consistency will be key to Konaté’s success.
Grade: C
Bernardo Silva
Another opportunity signing, Silva was picked up on a free after his contract at Manchester City ended.
The 32-year-old—who is the only Portuguese player in Mourinho’s roster—adds invaluable elite-level experience to the engine room, having been central to trophy after trophy under Pep Guardiola in England over the last nine seasons.
Helpfully, he can operate in a range of positions, if and when needed, but is likely to be used mainly as one of two pivots in Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system.
Whether he still has the legs to contribute as one of the key men week after week remains to be seen, but he should be an astute squad addition, as important in the locker room as on the pitch. What he very much isn’t, however, is a defensive-midfield controller like his old teammate Rodri—a position Madrid are still missing.
Grade: B+
Yan Diomande
During his re-election campaign Pérez promised more marquee, galáctico-style signings under his stewardship, generating much excitement about who would be the next superstar through the doors at the Bernabéu.
Michael Olise was rumored; Enzo Fernández too. There was even a Machiavallian bid for Julián Alvarez, but eventually Pérez’s crosshairs were fixed on RB Leipzig wonderkid Diomande.
The Ivorian is undoubtedly one of the most exciting prospects in world football, but making a 19-year-old with little more than a year of senior experience your club-record signing is a big call. And one that puts a lot of pressure on the player too.
Diomande is eventually expected to lock down the right wing as part of a quadruple threat attack, alongside bonafide superstars Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, but he is being eased in slowly by Mourinho in the first weeks.
Grade: B-
Carlos Espí
Espí signing, amid the arrivals of far more household names, was a head scratcher for some.
The 21-year-old himself seemingly couldn’t believe he had gotten the call, but Mourinho was adamant on adding a plan B striker to his team this season, à la Joselu.
Time will tell if the youngster gets his own Bayern Munich moment, and he is never in danger of displacing Mbappé in the lineup but he has already won over the fans with a 90th-minute winner against Espanyol on his La Liga debut.
Making an impact regularly with limited minutes is a skill that Espí will be tasked with mastering this season.
Grade: C+
feed. READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC