€68m Arsenal star Xabi Alonso’s ‘great desire’ but Real Madrid transfer ‘very difficult’ amid ‘mistake’– report | OneFootball

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez turned down Xabi Alonso’s request to sign Martin Zubimendi before he joined Arsenal in the summer of 2025, according to a Spanish report, which has revealed the chances of Los Blancos being able to rectify their ‘mistake’ regarding the Gunners star.

Zubimendi left Real Sociedad for Arsenal in the summer of 2025. There was interest from Real Madrid in the Spain international midfielder, according to ESPN on June 4, but it was the Gunners who got the deal done for the 26-year-old.

Arsenal were so determined to bring Zubimendi to the Emirates Stadium in the summer transfer window that the north London club paid £60million (€68m, $78.5m) for him to get a favourable structural deal, despite his release clause being €60m (£53m, $69.2m).

Zubimendi has gone from strength to strength at Arsenal and has also been earmarked as Rodri’s heir in defensive midfield for Spain.

According to Sport, a Catalan publication with an inclination to Barcelona, Zubimendi’s performances for Arsenal and Spain have exposed Madrid president Florentino Perez’s ‘mistake’.

According to the report, Xabi Alonso, who was appointed the Madrid manager at the end of last season, ‘insistently’ asked for the signing of Zubimendi and eventually ‘got tired’.

Zubimendi was Alonso’s ‘great desire’, but Perez ‘ended up denying’ his request because of the presence of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni in the Real Madrid squad.

While Tchouameni has done well for Madrid so far this season, Camavinga has had injury problems.

According to Sport, although Dani Ceballos has a similar profile to Zubimendi, the Madrid star is not at ‘the level’ of the Arsenal ace.

‘Now, already in the Premier League, it seems very difficult to get him out of there’, claims the report in regard to any future Madrid move for Zubimendi.

Real Madrid’s ‘huge mistake’ regarding Martín Zubimendi highlighted by other sources

As mentioned above, Sport is not the most reliable source for Real Madrid inside information because of their allegiance to their bitter rivals, Barcelona, but other sources in Spain have highlighted Los Blancos’ mistake in not getting a deal done for Zubimendi in the summer of 2025 when they had the chance.

Journalist Antonio Romero told Cadena SER last month that it was ‘a huge mistake that Real Madrid didn’t sign Zubimendi’, with fellow reporter Julio Pulido adding that Los Blancos ‘might regret having decided not to invest in him’.

Former Madrid striker Alfonso Perez Munoz also openly said in October that Los Blancos should have signed Zubimendi.

When asked if he would have signed Zubimendi for Madrid in the summer of 2025, Alfonso told AS: “I would have signed him, yes, because Madrid needs players with the creative profile of Kroos, Modric…, although I think Güler is a great player, who seems to have taken a step forward with Xabi Alonso and the coach is reciprocating.”

Meanwhile, sources have told TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, that Real Madrid are set to receive a bid from Leeds United for one of their underused players.