Real Madrid Strike ‘Agreement’ for Record-Breaking Marc Cucurella Transfer

Real Madrid and Chelsea have reportedly come to a broad agreement to make Marc Cucurella the club’s most expensive left back of all time.

The Spain international cast his own future at Stamford Bridge in uncertainty after taking aim at Chelsea’s unorthodox approach towards the end of a disappointing 2025–26 season. While Cucurella had recently opened himself up to the prospect of giving the project another chance following the exciting addition of Xabi Alonso as manager, it appears as though Real Madrid’s offer was more compelling.

A verbal agreement between all involved parties was first claimed by Fabrizio Romano on Sunday. José Mourinho, Madrid’s freshly reappointed manager, was thought to have singled Cucurella out as his ideal left back target in a position which caused plenty of problems for the Spanish giants last term.

Madrid are expected to splash as much as $69.4 million (£51.8 million, €60 million) on the 27-year-old, with a fixed fee of €55 million supported by a further €5 million in potential bonuses, per The Athletic.

This represents something of a coup for Madrid, who have beaten the likes of Barcelona—Cucurella’s boyhood club—Atlético Madrid and Manchester City to the signature of one of the Premier League’s best left backs, but it also underscores the costly mistakes of a club trying to spend their way back to the top.

Most Expensive Left Backs of All Time

Rank / Player	Transfer	Fee
1. Lucas Hernández	Atlético to Bayern	$92.5 million
2. Marc Cucurella	Brighton to Chelsea	$75.6 million
3. Marc Cucurella*	Chelsea to Real Madrid	$69.4 million
4. Benjamin Mendy	Monaco to Man City	$66.5 million
5. Ben Chilwell	Leicester to Chelsea	$58.1 million
6. Álvaro Carreras	Benfica to Real Madrid	$57.8 million
7. Ferland Mendy	Lyon to Real Madrid	$55.5 million
8. Milos Kerkez	Bournemouth to Liverpool	$54.3 million
9. Lucas Hernández	Bayern to PSG	$52.1 million
10. Ian Maatsen	Chelsea to Aston Villa	$51.5 million

* Includes Cucurella’s reported fee. All figures via Transfermarkt and converted from € to $.

Real Madrid Paying for Last Summer’s Mistakes

Less than one year ago, Real Madrid made Álvaro Carreras the most expensive left back in the club’s long history with a €50 million deal—a record which will be surpassed by Cucurella. Even that deal was something of an embarrassment for Madrid, who had Carreras in the club’s academy for three years without giving him a single senior appearance before letting him join Manchester United for free.

The Premier League’s meat grinder of talent also passed over Carreras, leaving it once again to Benfica to rebuild the confidence of a clearly gifted fullback. The 23-year-old’s return to Madrid began brightly, there was a time when Spanish media billed every starting XI as Carreras plus 10 others. But the chaos swirling around the Bernabéu soon gripped the young Spaniard.

Carreras soon lost his starting spot to a half-fit Ferland Mendy and did little to prove that he deserved to win his place back when he was given a chance in the lineup. A particularly chastening night pawing after Michael Olise’s shadow against Bayern Munich represented the nadir—on the pitch at least. A physical confrontation with teammate Antonio Rüdiger on the training ground pointed towards the internal frustrations bubbling away.

Whether Carreras will be offloaded to recoup some of the sizeable fee for Cucurella remains to be seen. There is also Fran García (even further down the pecking order than Carreras) and the treatment-room-bound Mendy to consider.

Nevertheless, Madrid have acted decisively to get Mourinho who he wants. Only time will tell if that also proves to be a misstep.

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