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

Doni · May 21, 2026

natenate101 said: ↑

Jude could play alongside Rodri against certain teams. And I definitely see Guler and Paz being shifted out right at times to make things work, for better or worse.
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Yeah there’s no reason why Jude shouldn’t play in a double pivot, hopefully Mourinho can instil that discipline back into his game.

Hendrix22 · May 21, 2026

Zidane05 said: ↑

He was atrocious vs. Benfica that they had to take him off. Benfica pretty much left him on the ball and didn't even press because they knew he wasn't going to make the right decision. Definitely on point with a lot of room to grow.
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I didnt see that game but I saw the other one in December and he looked pretty tidy on the ball and playing it safe. He is very athletic and I havent noticed pace being a problem. Definitely higher ceiling than Inacio or Antonio Silva, or even Huijsen I'd say who I rate highly. Whoever gets him this summer will have a worldclass CB in a year or two.

Bernardo Silva is washed btw. Moving for him would be ridiculous. He still works extremely hard and is a great savant of the game but hes extremely pedestrian to play wide and just too small (and again bit too slow) for the middle. Serie A is the right place for him now, not a Madrid that needs to rebuild.

Seoul Villan · May 21, 2026

Hendrix22 said: ↑

I didnt see that game but I saw the other one in December and he looked pretty tidy on the ball and playing it safe. He is very athletic and I havent noticed pace being a problem. Definitely higher ceiling than Inacio or Antonio Silva, or even Huijsen I'd say who I rate highly. Whoever gets him this summer will have a worldclass CB in a year or two.

Bernardo Silva is washed btw. Moving for him would be ridiculous. He still works extremely hard and is a great savant of the game but hes extremely pedestrian to play wide and just too small (and again bit too slow) for the middle. Serie A is the right place for him now, not a Madrid that needs to rebuild.
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Agreed on Silva he’s cooked. The only thing I’m looking for is some strong veteran presence to help the dressing room. Have no idea who that would be that fits, which is why Rodri/Silva makes sense?

I’m still in the belief we need to subtract before additions.

Shay Z · May 21, 2026

@natenate101 Does Nico Paz compete with Jude and Arda for minutes and once Rodry comes back add him to the list too?

As much as i like Paz and think that he deserves a real shot here i don't see this as anything more than a Odegaard kind of deal. He'll come back waste a year getting minimal minutes and then be sold for less than what he could have been sold for this summer. And then if he ends up on the right team we will see him thrive again. Give me your current pecking order between Jude, Arda and Paz. Actually not your current pecking order but what you think Jose is likely to do. I think Paz is number 3 between those names and as good as he is, the only way i see him working out for us is if he comes and just lights it up and snatches his place in the team from everyone. He will have to make a big impact, like Jude did in year 1.

RMrules · May 21, 2026

Paz will bench Arda just like Isco benched James and the reasons are the same ......Nico is a lot more mobile ,quicker,better on the ball and better dribler

natenate101 · May 21, 2026

Shay Z said: ↑

@natenate101 Does Nico Paz compete with Jude and Arda for minutes and once Rodry comes back add him to the list too?

As much as i like Paz and think that he deserves a real shot here i don't see this as anything more than a Odegaard kind of deal. He'll come back waste a year getting minimal minutes and then be sold for less than what he could have been sold for this summer. And then if he ends up on the right team we will see him thrive again. Give me your current pecking order between Jude, Arda and Paz. Actually not your current pecking order but what you think Jose is likely to do. I think Paz is number 3 between those names and as good as he is, the only way i see him working out for us is if he comes and just lights it up and snatches his place in the team from everyone. He will have to make a big impact, like Jude did in year 1.
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Again, I think he is being underestimated. Different to Odegaard who had still late prime Kroos-Modric in his way, Paz has a still growing Arda to battle with. But again, their styles are different so depending on how we decide to play either can be a focal point. Arda still isn’t an undisputed starter to me, but he is coming along nicely. Good problems. No one should feel safe after these past 2 years and we need positional battles to see who really wants it and can step up. Someone like Paz gets sent out to grow and show promise, and he is far outdone that and proven to be a game changer for Como. If we don’t give him a shot to earn a spot we are stupid.

I’ll put it this way, I think Paz should be a part-time starter to ease into La Liga play this season. He splits time with Arda and we see who rises to the top. And I’d sell Brahim personally, while he had some value.

At lot of this stuff depends on Jose’s plan at Striker and with Jude. Oh, I also wouldn’t bring back Endrick either but we’ll see how that fits into what José wants.

Paz can also still get sold, I mean we haven’t officially brought him back yet, correct?

fierro · May 21, 2026

Hendrix22 said: ↑

Bernardo Silva is washed btw. Moving for him would be ridiculous. He still works extremely hard and is a great savant of the game but hes extremely pedestrian to play wide and just too small (and again bit too slow) for the middle. Serie A is the right place for him now, not a Madrid that needs to rebuild.
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Gotta agree, he's fits the profile of WHY the "free veteran transfer" can be a total drag. I don't think he's Hazard washed as you say, but I think it's more Mbappe/Alaba where he peaked somewhere else and gave his best years to someone else and we are the club rewarding him with what should be other players loyalty bonuses.

Even accepting that he's not demanding ridiculous wages or signing bonus, he's already 31 and club policy is supposed to NOT give more than 1 year contracts to players >30.

Add to that he will be coming off a World Cup year with Portugal looking set to make a deep run. I see it as a signing for a player that the club will NOT get more than 1 good season out of.

fierro · May 21, 2026

fierro said: ↑

Gotta agree, he's fits the profile of WHY the "free veteran transfer" can be a total drag. I don't think he's Hazard washed as you say, but I think it's more Mbappe/Alaba where he peaked somewhere else and gave his best years to someone else and we are the club rewarding him with what should be other players loyalty bonuses.

Even accepting that he's not demanding ridiculous wages or signing bonus, he's already 31 and club policy is supposed to NOT give more than 1 year contracts to players >30.

Add to that he will be coming off a World Cup year with Portugal looking set to make a deep run. I see it as a signing for a player that the club will get more than 1 good season out of.
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Copy and Paste for Bruno Fernandez

Ahmadi8 · May 21, 2026

Paz had the Kroos endorsement.

undertow · May 21, 2026

I struggle to see where Aurelien fits in. Is a Rodri and Aurelien pivot overkill?

Same with Valverde. If it was me I would put Valverde at RB. Huge improvement on trent. Defensively and competitively. Trent is a luxury player, he even won't get in the England squad. He's superfluous (no striker in the box for him).

I want Nico at RW, Guler in the Ozil role. Jude will have to fill in the double pivot or fight with guler and Nico.

Some difficult decisions need to be made.

fierro · May 21, 2026

undertow said: ↑

I struggle to see where Aurelien fits in. Is a Rodri and Aurelien pivot overkill?

Same with Valverde. If it was me I would put Valverde at RB. Huge improvement on trent. Defensively and competitively. Trent is a luxury player, he even won't get in the England squad. He's superfluous (no striker in the box for him).

I want Nico at RW, Guler in the Ozil role. Jude will have to fill in the double pivot or fight with guler and Nico.

Some difficult decisions need to be made.
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With Rodri then Tchou absolutely becomes overkill.

Tchou or Fed would need other players next to them to play a double pivot but Rodri not so much as he can do both job (offense/defense) however at least Fed can play further foward where's the only other position Tchou can play is as a CB and that's probably a position the club will drop bags of money on top of.

Sell Tchou and Mbappe to fund transfer for Rodri, a CF, a CB and a RB and still have money left over so Flo can chase after the players that came in his pack of World Cup 2026 panini stickers

undertow · May 21, 2026

The reality is this...

Valverde is not getting benched
Aurelien is not getting benched
Jude is not getting benched
Vinicius is not getting benched
Mbappe is not getting benched

The only player getting benched is Guler (best player this season) and that will be for Rodri to play in a double pivot with Aurelien. Valverde on the RW (very mourinho). Jude at media punta.

Nothing is going to change.

Endrick and nico paz will not see any minutes. Pointless them coming here. Guler will not even see any minutes.

Call me negative nancy but this is the reality.

Akramzizou · May 21, 2026

Shay Z said: ↑

@natenate101 Does Nico Paz compete with Jude and Arda for minutes and once Rodry comes back add him to the list too?

As much as i like Paz and think that he deserves a real shot here i don't see this as anything more than a Odegaard kind of deal. He'll come back waste a year getting minimal minutes and then be sold for less than what he could have been sold for this summer. And then if he ends up on the right team we will see him thrive again. Give me your current pecking order between Jude, Arda and Paz. Actually not your current pecking order but what you think Jose is likely to do. I think Paz is number 3 between those names and as good as he is, the only way i see him working out for us is if he comes and just lights it up and snatches his place in the team from everyone. He will have to make a big impact, like Jude did in year 1.
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100% my thought.

The types of players Jude and Nico are are not your typical modern midfielders, so team shape needs to accommodate or build around that. Jude probably has enough status to warrant that, I dont know if Nico will have that, and even if he does, how do you fit two very similar direct midfielders who want to play in a similar #10 position in Jude and Nico? I dont think Nico competes with Arda, Arda can be molded into a CM and he can play on the wing.

If Jose can make it work, would love to see it. Nico is a special talent and having a crack from Castilla is always a treat.

undertow · May 21, 2026

Jude has had two poor seasons. He doesn't "have enough in the bank" like Vini and Mbappe to excuse it.

If Nico is scoring and assisting then he deserves to play. He seems the hungrier player.

libertao · May 21, 2026

Shay Z said: ↑

As much as i like Paz and think that he deserves a real shot here i don't see this as anything more than a Odegaard kind of deal. He'll come back waste a year getting minimal minutes and then be sold for less than what he could have been sold for this summer. And then if he ends up on the right team we will see him thrive again.
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You definitely could be right...but with the promise he has shown, it is worth a shot. Odegaard did not show quite as much promise on loan as Paz has in Como, and we still made a pretty penny on him. And I wouldn't say he'll necessarily lose significant value due to not being able to win time over Jude and (in this speculative scenario) an improved Guler. We would also lose some trust from future loanees that if they play well on loan we will bring them back and give them a chance at their preferred club.

AllWhites · May 21, 2026

Nico is much stronger than arda. That alone will make him favourable to mourinho.

Naz07 · May 21, 2026

Nico, Arda and Jude can go exist IMO, but one of Vini or Mbappe will have to go.

in a 4-2-2-2
Mbappe(Vini)-Jude
Paz/Arda ——— Fede/Munoz
CM/Thiago— Tchou

in a 4-3-3

Mbappe(Vini) - Jude - Fede/Munoz
Paz/Arda - CM/Thiago - Tchou

We can even add another midfielder depending on what happens with Camavinga (would personally move him to LB).

Shay Z · May 21, 2026

libertao said: ↑

You definitely could be right...but with the promise he has shown, it is worth a shot. Odegaard did not show quite as much promise on loan as Paz has in Como, and we still made a pretty penny on him. And I wouldn't say he'll necessarily lose significant value due to not being able to win time over Jude and (in this speculative scenario) an improved Guler. We would also lose some trust from future loanees that if they play well on loan we will bring them back and give them a chance at their preferred club.
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I agree, it doesn't look good for us if a academy boy shines on loan and doesn't get a real chance here. Then we might as well just come out and say it that the academy is just to make money off player sales and nothing more.

But at the same time these players we have on the roster cost a ton of money to the club and of course are very talented as well, Arda is a much sought after player, i was reading some comments from PL fans and one Liverpool fan said let Madrid waste him for another year or two then we can get him for half the price just when he's ready to enter his prime as a midfielder. Pressure is on everyone at the club right now and results are needed, i don't know how much room that leaves for player development and patience. Endrick is in an even worse position regarding that.

I really like Nico and i really really want canteranos in the squad after we've lost so many in recent years and i hope Nico is the first one of a new generation and Victor Munoz can claim a squad spot for the next five years but unless we are selling two current starters idk how to fit everyone (plus a signing like Rodri) and give players like Nico the deserved (lots of mins) playing time he needs to prove his quality at the highest level. I hope i am wrong and Jose is able to balance everything. A week ago i came across stats regarding playing time for the current PSG squad and no wonder they are able to fly around the pitch even in April and May, they rotate and rest and lots of that is due to the league they play in which even goes as far as regularly changing their league fixture dates to give them more time for CL games but the logic is sound. If we can manage to have some kind of rotation going while getting results at the same time then that solves all these issues but that is a very unlikely scenario.

Saeta Rubia · May 21, 2026

🚨 JUST IN: Rodri & Manchester City still have a SIGNIFICANT distance to agree a new deal.

Real Madrid know that Rodri wants to join them one day, but they still haven’t decided if they will fully go for him.

The decision will be made with José Mourinho. @FabrizioRomano 🇪🇸💭 pic.twitter.com/kr6FntQwnS
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 21, 2026

Digital · May 21, 2026

arcane said: ↑

Isn't Silva too old?
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Yes

Saeta Rubia · May 21, 2026

Won't saying turning 32 this summer is too old as players age differently. It's a gamble for sure. KDB had steep decline at 33 meanwhile Modric was a world class starter at 36 and Kroos retired at 34 after world class season.

REALFOREVER · May 21, 2026

I would not worry about Bellingham, Arda, and Nico. That is a 1st world problem for Mourinho to solve. I actually think they can make it work with some rotation. It is up to them to perform.

They need to solve the CB problem and CM/DM problem. If they pick up Rodri, it probably solves the midfield problem in the short-term. It provides a very fast band-aid solution. But the CB problem cannot be ignored. They need a 1st rate CB, and potentially a 2nd depending on how things shake out.

If the backend is more or less fixed, it becomes easier to fix the attacking side. That end is more about getting the players to put in the actual work which will require some tough love from Jose.

arcane · May 21, 2026

Saeta Rubia said: ↑

Won't saying turning 32 this summer is too old as players age differently. It's a gamble for sure. KDB had steep decline at 33 meanwhile Modric was a world class starter at 36 and Kroos retired at 34 after world class season.
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Thats the thing. At age 32, the odds of the player falling off a cliff increases exponentially.

Its fine if he accepts a one to two year contract. What if he demands a five year contract and the club accepts bec. its a free transfer? Its a problem longterm.

arcane · May 21, 2026

REALFOREVER said: ↑

I would not worry about Bellingham, Arda, and Nico. That is a 1st world problem for Mourinho to solve. I actually think they can make it work with some rotation. It is up to them to perform.

They need to solve the CB problem and CM/DM problem. If they pick up Rodri, it probably solves the midfield problem in the short-term. It provides a very fast band-aid solution. But the CB problem cannot be ignored. They need a 1st rate CB, and potentially a 2nd depending on how things shake out.

If the backend is more or less fixed, it becomes easier to fix the attacking side. That end is more about getting the players to put in the actual work which will require some tough love from Jose.
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Dont forget we beed a quality RB.

I dont trust TAA to stay healthy.

boeder · May 21, 2026

arcane said: ↑

Thats the thing. At age 32, the odds of the player falling off a cliff increases exponentially.

Its fine if he accepts a one to two year contract. What if he demands a five year contract and the club accepts bec. its a free transfer? Its a problem longterm.
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I doubt the club will offer him more than 2-3 years max at 31

Again our dressing room needs some maturity and leadership to dilute the clown show, so this is a bet they might be willing to take..