After months of internal storms, conflicts in the locker room and sporting disillusionment, Real Madrid is actively preparing its big summer cleaning. If the current electoral process, which will see members vote on Sunday June 7, has logically slowed down many players and slowed down officializations, the Madrid management is working hard on restructuring its workforce.
Representatives from all over the world are trying to position their players for next season to wear the famous white tunic, but Real Madrid’s top priority is clear: It is imperative to rethink and solidify the central hinge.
With the already confirmed departure of the Austrian David Alabamanagement knows full well that it no longer has the right to make mistakes in this sector of play. The first major movement of this major defensive project has already been completed internally: Antonio Rüdiger should extend his adventure at Real Madrid. Despite a particularly tense climate in recent weeks within the professional group, the German defender remains an indisputable and unassailable executive on a purely sporting level.
His contract extension would be completely finalized and the official announcement will take place very soon. Rüdiger will thus form the solid base of the Real Madrid rearguard for next season, alongside the Brazilian Éder Militão and the young Dean Huijsen. However, this basis is considered largely insufficient to face the multiple challenges to come, and theReal Madrid are looking to recruit at least one, and potentially two, world-class central defenders to complete their rotation.
The golden opportunity named Ibrahima Konaté
In this quest for defensive excellence, one name stands out with increasing insistence as the days go by: Ibrahima Konaté. The 27-year-old French defender simply stands out as the biggest opportunity on the summer market, since he will leave Liverpool completely free of any contract.
The story of Konaté on the banks of the Mersey is that of an incredible last-minute turnaround. Barely a month ago, on April 19, the player publicly declared in the depths of Hill Dickinson Stadium that his contract extension was on very good track, ensuring that he ardently wanted to stay with the Reds for the long term.
But according to AS, the negotiations completely exploded in mid-air. The Frenchman demanded a significant salary increase compared to his current emoluments (which are around 4 million euros annually, or around 70,000 pounds sterling per week), which the management of the English club ultimately refused to grant him.
Faced with this total financial impasse, Liverpool did not procrastinate and has already secured its long-term replacement by paying the tidy sum of 70 million euros to secure the services of young Jérémy Jacquet. Direct consequence of this signing: Konaté made the firm and definitive decision not to sign a new lease, thus becoming the most valuable free agent on the world market with an estimate of around 50 million euros.
Real Madrid, which had once established it as an absolute plan A before backing down slightly in the face of its decline at the start of 2026, is once again massively on the lookout. With his 1.94 m, his right-handed status and his profile as a true “warrior” of surfaces favoring physical duels over technical finesse, the third player most used by the English club this season (with 4,280 minutes played, just behind Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai) séduit énormément the White House.
But the competition promises to be extremely fierce on the file, since Bayern Munich, the London club Chelsea and several Italian big names are already working diligently on a concrete proposal for the French international.
The rave Josko Gvardiol for a stroke of madness
If the Ibrahima Konaté option presents the immense advantage of being free, Real Madrid is simultaneously exploring another avenue that is much more expensive but just as prestigious on the transfer market: Josko Gvardiol. The powerful Croatian international is seriously considering a move from Manchester City this summer, a desire to pack up which is fully part of the possible talent drain following the great departure of Pep Guardiola.
According to the latest indiscretions from AS, the name of Josko Gvardiol was directly submitted to the management of Real Madrid through the intermediary of a former emblematic player of the club from the Spanish capital. The central defender has never hidden, during his young career, his deep and assumed desire to one day wear the legendary immaculate tunic of Real Madrid.
The main obstacle to this dream transaction obviously lies in the purely financial aspect of the operation. Manchester City had to pay the astronomical sum of 80 million euros to snatch him from RB Leipzig in the pastand two years before the expiration of his contract in England, the leaders of the Citizens will give absolutely no gifts during possible negotiations.
However, his publicly stated desire to join Real Madrid could weigh very heavily in the balance at the time of discussions between the different parties.
And the men RaÃol AsencioÂ
The final decision of the management of Real Madrid to recruit a single or two central defenders during this summer transfer window will depend on another crucial variable: the future of Raúl Asencio. The young Spanish defender is currently at the heart of very lively debates within the Chamartán offices.
The idea of keeping him in the rotation or finding a definitive exit door is highly divisive internally. His future within the club will be definitively decided by the next coach of the first team. And barring a huge surprise during the electoral vote on Sunday June 7, this role of all-powerful manager will be assigned to the charismatic José Mourinho.
The “Special One” will have the very heavy task of evaluating the entire current workforce upon his arrival in Spain and to decide in his soul and conscience whether he keeps Asencio or whether he demands the immediate signing of a second defensive reinforcement of a very high international level.
