Selling Aurelien Tchouameni Would Spell Transfer Disaster for Real Madrid

The coveted midfielder could be sold to generate funds for new star signings.

Aurélien Tchouaméni’s future is up in the air. | Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images

Real Madrid’s summer of transition is already in full swing.

The arrival of José Mourinho followed the re-election of Florentino Pérez as president, while the transfers of Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Bernardo Silva and Denzel Dumfries have already been confirmed, with more expected to follow.

After two embarrassing seasons without a trophy, Pérez is taking a proactive approach to the transfer market and has promised to continue bringing the world’s best players to the Bernabéu. Mourinho is said to want another center back, along with a midfield playmaker and possibly even a Joselu-style “Plan B” striker. Pérez, typically, has teased more “Galácticos.”

All this costs money, however, and there are reports that Real Madrid will need to raise funds to balance the books.

Dani Ceballos, Dani Carvajal and David Alaba have already left for free, while Nico Paz’s rights were sold to Como as part of a complex new agreement to bring in some revenue. Sell-on clauses for other players including Víctor Muñoz, who moved from Osasuna to Liverpool, also brings in cash, but there are rumblings that Madrid are considering making one big sale this summer to offset the spending.

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Why Are Real Madrid Considering Tchouaméni Sale?

Aurélien Tchouaméni is the obvious candidate for Real Madrid to sell. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

AS claims that Real Madrid’s upcoming expenditure will exceed €100 million ($115 million), and they will consider selling a first-team star for an equivalent value.

Raúl Asencio, Fran García and even Eduardo Camavinga have all been touted to leave this window but would not generate fees in that ballpark. The most credible option is Aurélien Tchouaméni, with SPORT among several outlets reporting that the France international is being considered as the big-money departure.

Tchouaméni has plenty of admirers. Coveted by Liverpool before joining Madrid in 2022, Manchester United’s interest in the 26-year-old is well known and there may well be other clubs keen to start a bidding war for one of the game’s most high-profile defensive midfielders.

Selling Tchouaméni would also close an uncomfortable chapter for Madrid, with the Frenchman fined €500,000 ($570,000) near the end of last season for his part in a training-ground fight with Federico Valverde, who ended up being hospitalized. Valverde, also fined, is due to inherit the captain’s armband this season and, while both players insist the incident was no big deal, all eyes will be on the harmony levels at Valdebebas at the start of next season.

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Selling Tchouaméni Would Leave Madrid Short in Key Area

Real Madrid don’t have another player like Tchouaméni. | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

The case for Tchouaméni’s exit is clear, then. Net upwards of €100 million to re-invest in other gaps within the team and put an end to any possible bad blood in training (at least involving those two players). Still, the reality is that selling Tchouaméni would likely only cause more issues.

A lot of focus has been placed on Real Madrid’s recent search for a deep-lying midfield playmaker in the mold of departed club legends Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić. The club recently put out a statement insisting they are not interested in Chelsea’s £120 million-rated Enzo Fernández, amid persistent links.

If Madrid were to sell Tchouaméni to spend big on a more creative player, they would plug one gap in the roster only to open up another.

Tchouaméni, for any perceived faults, is a top-level defensive midfielder and—crucially—the only specialist Madrid have in the first team.

Camavinga deputized in the role as Los Blancos’ deepest lying midfielder at times in 2025–26, but he is not a natural ‘six’ and his recent form has been unconvincing. 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch showed promise after being promoted from the B team under Álvaro Arbeloa, but can’t be expected to be thrust in as a trusted starter next season at a team with serious ambitions domestically and in Europe.

Mourinho’s preferred system of 4–2–3–1 makes the holding midfield role a pivotal one, with a player of Tchouaméni’s more defensively minded profile required alongside another player with who will share defensive responsibilities, while also acting as a creative bridge to the attack—perhaps Valverde, Camavinga, Silva or a new signing.

Madrid may get away without a dedicated “water carrier” in some La Liga games, but are likely to find themselves unbalanced, lacking cover against the better sides.

Tchouaméni—like most of his club teammates—may have endured a 2025–26 to forget, but still no player made more tackles, interceptions or accurate short passes for Madrid in La Liga last season. Only Dean Huijsen blocked more shots.

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Shades of Makélélé

Makélélé was the unsung hero of Real Madrid’s side at the turn of the century. | IMAGO / BSR Agency

Real Madrid can learn from history in this situation. Back in 2003, Pérez sold another unglamorous French defensive midfielder, Claude Makélélé, to Chelsea for £16.8 million ($22.5 million)—a transfer decision that has gone down in infamy.

Makélélé became the Blues’ “battery,” as described by manager Claudio Ranieri, and went on to win two Premier League titles among other honors, while helping to redefine the holding midfield position to the point that it is often named after him.

Madrid, meanwhile, didn’t win a league title for four years and struggled in Europe without an anchor to balance the attacking talent Pérez insisted on stuffing into the team.

Reacting to the decision to sell Makélélé, Zinedine Zidane came out with the enduring quote: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”

Fernando Hierro described the sale as “the beginning of the end for Los Galácticos.”

Tchouaméni may not be quite at the same level as his countryman, but he is an unquestionably elite-level player in his position. Unless Madrid have a plan to mitigate for his exit, they may be doomed to repeat history.

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