Saudi Clubs Targeting Real Madrid Stars

The last few years have been tough for many of the top-tier clubs in Europe. The clubs that once thought they were powerful financially were contested by the Saudi Pro League, which offered massive paychecks for the stars. 

Many stars followed the path created by Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the Saudi Professional League for a much better paycheck. 

Key players include Karim Benzema, John Duran, Jordan Henderson and Riyad Mahrez. 

While there is a market slowly building for the Saudi Pro League on trusted ticketing platforms such as Seatsnet, some clubs have put their foot down in stopping their talent from going away to the Middle East. 

Despite saying no, the Saudi clubs have kept coming back for the stars in Europe such as Mo Salah, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Allisson. 

But a majority of the players are turning down the requests, and the clubs are adamant about retaining the talent. Real Madrid is one such club. But this might be changing soon. 

Real Madrid is one of the few top European clubs that have not directly sold players to the cash-rich Saudi Arabian League so far.

While Karim Benzema and Nacho Fernandez moved to the Saudi Pro League from Real Madrid, they did so as free agents after the expiry of their contracts at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, clubs from Saudi Arabia continue to show interest in players at Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr. continues to be very much on their radars for the future, but two more stars have now emerged as possible targets.

Saudi Arabia eyes David Alaba, Dani Ceballos

Indeed, according to MARCA, Real Madrid fringe duo David Alaba and Dani Ceballos have popped up as subjects of interest for clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Both players have been on the Middle Eastern nation’s radar before, but previously paid little attention to the approaches.

However, they have attracted attention once again, though neither has yet received an official offer from Saudi Arabia.

Uninterested in a Move

But, as per the report, Saudi Arabia is not the preferred destination for either Alaba or Ceballos this summer.

Alaba is determined to see out the final year of his contract at Real Madrid and has shown no indication of changing his mind despite the prospect of minimal game-time.

Fully recovered from the injury sustained in the build-up to the FIFA Club World Cup, he even featured in the training match against Leganes on Friday.

Ceballos, meanwhile, appears only willing to leave Real Madrid for his former club Real Betis. The midfielder, who turned 29 recently, finds himself well down the pecking order.

However, he is unlikely to make a final decision until the closing days of the transfer window, once the season has begun.

For many fans who are regulars on ticket markets such as Seatsnet, it is evident that this will not work around, with the fanfare and the following build-up around Real Madrid, and they believe that no player will opt to take this route from the Los Blancos.

New No. 9 At Real Madrid 

There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about who will be the new number in the Real Madrid squad for the central striker position. Kylian Mbappé’s move to number 10 following the departure of Luka Modric has left the legendary number 9 vacant, and now the club have decided on the matter.

There are two candidates to take the shirt: Endrick Felipe and Gonzalo Garcia. It was thought that earlier in his career at Real Madrid, Endrick would take the number. 

Still, Gonzalo’s performances in recent months have raised some doubts, especially after recent reports claimed that the 21-year-old would be the winner of this competition.

But that’s not true. According to a report from The Athletic, Real Madrid has decided that Endrick will be the club’s new number 9, and it is expected that this news will be made public before the start of the new season, which begins next weekend.

Endrick’s takeover of the No. 9 is a significant turnaround for him. 

Earlier in the summer, it was widely reported that Real Madrid were preparing to loan him out, with the plan being for Mbappé and Gonzalo to be the two main options in attack in the 2025-26 season.

However, Endrick made it clear that he has no plans to leave Real Madrid on loan, and although this was not well received by the club’s management, it has not stopped the club from giving the Brazilian talent the number 9 shirt.

For the youngster, this means that he will be getting more games to play. Being the new #9 assures that the Brazilian will feature in the team’s starting lineup – a luxury that he was not privileged to have in the previous season under manager Carlo Ancelotti. 

With the FIFA World Cup around the corner, Endrick will want to get as much game time as possible to find his way to a national jersey. 

Pay Parity in Real Madrid 

Franco Mastantuono, Real Madrid’s new signing, is currently the lowest-paid player on the team, earning far less than stars like Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. 

Mastantuono will officially join Real Madrid on August 14, the day he turns 18, after the Spanish club paid 45 million euros for his transfer from River Plate. 

The attacking midfielder has been compared to Argentine legend Juan Roman Riquelme for his vision and technique. He has already made 30 appearances for River’s first team, scoring five goals. 

Although it was purchased for such a large sum, according to Sports World, he will earn just 3.5 million euros per year, making him the lowest-paid player in Real Madrid’s first team. 

His salary stands out significantly compared to that of Mbappe, who earns around 30 million euros per year, or stars like Vincius, David Alaba and Jude Bellingham, who all earn around 20 million euros. 

Even young talents like Endrick (4 million euros) and Arda Guler (5 million euros) are at a higher pay level than the Argentine. 

However, this is a model that Real Madrid has followed before, investing heavily in young players but keeping starting salaries low.  

Vinicius and Rodrygo followed the same path, arriving as teenagers for more than 40 million euros, but initially with modest salaries, which were later increased with contract renewals.

Tickets for the new season are now available on Seatsnet.