💣 Caruso makes history: first Italian at Real Madrid, record deal 🤑 | OneFootball

A transfer that earns a place in Italian football history. Arianna Caruso is a new Real Madrid player: the Italy international midfielder leaves Bayern Munich and signs with Las Blancas for four seasons, until 30 June 2030. At 26, she becomes the first Italian footballer to wear the Real Madrid Femenino shirt.

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And it’s not just the club’s name that makes this historic. According to reports, the deal was completed for around €600,000 plus bonuses, a fee that sets a new record for an Italian women’s footballer, surpassing the one set just a few weeks ago by Giulia Dragoni’s move from Barcelona to Chelsea, another deal handled by Alessandro Orlandi’s agency Assist Women.

💰 CARUSO-REAL MADRID, A RECORD DEAL

Real Madrid have therefore decided to invest heavily in a player at the peak of her footballing maturity. And Caruso’s recent story also shows just how quickly her rise on the international stage has been.

She arrived at Bayern in February 2025, initially on loan from Juventus. On 30 June that same year, the Bavarian club signed her permanently and gave her a contract until 2028. Just over a year later, Real Madrid came calling.

Behind the departure was also the player’s desire to take on another challenge. Bianca Rech, director of Bayern Women, explained that Caruso had expressed her wish to seek a new experience, and the club therefore decided to allow her move to Spain.

🏆 SIX TROPHIES IN A YEAR AND A HALF AT BAYERN

Her spell in Germany was short, but full of success. Caruso leaves Munich with six trophies: two Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and two German Super Cups. In practical terms, six titles won between 2025 and 2026.

Last season Bayern also reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League, knocked out by Barcelona only after a 5-3 aggregate score over the two legs. Caruso played six matches in the 2025/26 edition of the competition, recording 359 minutes and 81.7% passing accuracy.

Now another hugely important shirt awaits her.

⚪ FIRST ITALIAN WITH LAS BLANCAS

No Italian women’s footballer had ever played for Real Madrid Femenino. Caruso is therefore opening a completely new path, and she does so after already becoming a symbol of Juventus Women.

She arrived in Turin in 2017, when she had just turned 17, and was one of the key figures in the birth and growth of the Bianconere project. By the time she left, she had made 237 appearances and scored 60 goals in all competitions, leaving Turin as the club’s all-time appearance leader and third-highest scorer in its history.

That appearances record lasted until February 2026, when Cristiana Girelli reached 238 and moved past her.

Her honours list in Italy is also impressive: according to Real Madrid, Caruso won 13 trophies with Juventus: six league titles, three Coppa Italia trophies and four Super Cups. Adding the six titles she won in Germany, she arrives in Madrid with 19 club trophies already won at just 26 years old.

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And she may have very little time to settle in. Real Madrid’s first official fixture is already set for Wednesday 26 August against Ajax, in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Women’s Champions League. The return leg will be played on 2 September at the Di Stefano.

In between, on 30 August, there will also be a far-from-routine Liga F debut: a derby against Atletico Madrid.

Caruso arrives with a message perfectly in line with the expectations of her new club: "I have a winning mentality and I can bring my experience," she said in her first words as a Madrid player.

🇮🇹 FROM REAL TO THE AZZURRE: NOW FOR THE 2027 WORLD CUP

The transfer also comes at a key moment in her international career. Caruso already has 72 caps for Italy and was one of the stars of the run to the EURO 2025 semi-finals: in that tournament she played all five matches, amassing 480 minutes and scoring one goal.

The next big target will be the 2027 World Cup. Italy will have to come through the playoffs and will face Belarus on 9 and 13 October in the first round of the European qualifiers.

Juventus, Bayern Munich and now Real Madrid. From Rome to the Casa Blanca via Turin and Munich: at 26, Arianna Caruso makes history with a record transfer and becomes the first Italian player in Real Madrid Femenino history.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.