Rebuilding Madrid, One Pass at a Time - The Transfers, Rumors & Lies Thread

Meh source. Guehi to City could mean Liverpool target Schlotterbeck

Friday 16th January: Message from source ⬇️ @LFC pic.twitter.com/avnk0zfQmC

— indykaila News (@indykaila) January 18, 2026

 

The problem is that Floro and Raul do not get along, it doesn't really matter what we think.

This is a good call.

 

Can see Florentino being interested as he has a thing for World Cup performers. Scaloni has job security with Argentina NT though while at RM he could get sacked within 6 months. Lowe stayed 15 years as German NT coach for example.

 

Perez won't have a wide premium choice to pick from...

 

Didn’t he express he’d like to coach Madrid one day?

 

The Athletic had a piece about how at the end of Carlos tenure he was very happy delegating to the players. Citing examples of Toni Kroos taking over team talks and how the tactics for the CL Final win over Dortmund was actually put in place by Toni and Carvajal.

There were a few articles post final discussing how we changed system for that game so it kind of tracks. Although I do feel its overplayed.

That paints quite a grim picture of a how big a void those older heads had left behind and how messy it would be for whoever follows suit. Next person in needs to be more Carlo than Xabi.

 

But there are no vets like Kroos in this squad to delegate if what they said about Carlo is true. We need a coach with strong personality who's also tactically astute to right this ship. Like when Mou was brought in to win the league against Pep's Barca. Current Mou is washed so can't be him anymore.

 

Florentino doesn't like that mode. He lets Barca win the league unless RM can achieve it going through maximum difficulty mode.

 

Of course it can be won. We're only a point down.

The problem is this board's stubborness to look for these creative solutions. I'm pretty sure there are decent players that want to go for glory at Madrid even for just half a season. Heck they could even pay loan fees and full wages to smaller teams and it wouldn't even make a dent on the budget.

 

PL teams are also signing quality talents in January. It's not like such signings are only available in the summer nowadays.

 

Then we don't have anyone after this season most likely smh.

Perhaps the bridge between the previous generation and new kids was a bit longer than anyone expected

 

SAF used to do that as well. But you need a strong locker room.

 

Looking at the current squad, I see a lot of guys who are probably less imposing and more about vibes in the locker room. A few quiet guys, a few party guys, a chill guy (lol)...

Bellingham looks like a potential leader, but he's just way too young to have the gravitas needed for such a role. Not to mention the recent rumours could mean he's possibly a bit of a primadonna himself.

Asencio seems like a possibly suitable character, but no chance in this stage of his career.

Fede is not that guy at all, and Carvajal seems to be withdrawn even though he has the accolades to be the loudest voice.

It's a great thing when you have someone like Ramos or Keane (even though we was actually a real ******** of a person).

 

I question if Valverde, Vini etc didn’t develop that leadership part of their game because they had Modric, Kroos, Vazquez, Nacho etc until now.

I think Kiki needs to be that leader as our best player

 

Alaba should also be a leader by this time. Although he's always injured, he's still one of the vets.

Thibo doesn't seem to be that guy either.

 

Vazquez was definitely that guy, and I'm not suprised abouth Nacho and Joselu.

I always think of Marcelo when I think about dressing room atmosphere. Guy was priceless when it came to being the glue of the group.

 

I had hopes it would be Tchouameni. They way Xabi took him under his wing first over all other players in training.

 

Maybe he's open to considering the move if we show serious interest this summer?

🚨 Jurgen Klopp: "Excited that Real Madrid are showing interest in me? NO, because they're NOT really interested, it's just media hype.

I'm consistent and I don't change my mind overnight. Of course, I wouldn't rule anything out completely, but I'm 58 years old and I'm very… pic.twitter.com/tTWYEA3o3v

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) January 19, 2026

 

🚨 BREAKING: Rúben Neves would love to sign for Real Madrid this month, but Florentino Perez is not in favor of the move.

— @carrusel pic.twitter.com/4nUh0aHMqF

— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) January 19, 2026

Of course he would. Perez has other priorities though.

 

Meanwhile, Barca was able to get Cancelo on loan till the end of the season.