Enzo Maresca will ‘implore Real Madrid’ to make ‘controversial’ signing of £60m Chelsea defender – report | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca will ask Real Madrid to sign one of Chelsea’s best defenders in the summer of 2026 should he become the new manager of Los Blancos, according to a report, which has also explained why it would be a ‘controversial’ move.

Maresca is without a managerial job at the moment following his departure from Chelsea on New Year’s Day. It may not be long before the Italian tactician gets a new job, though, with sources telling TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, that Maresca is one of the managers that Manchester City are looking at as a possible long-term successor to Pep Guardiola.

There has been speculation that Real Madrid have Maresca on their radar as well, despite appointing Alvaro Arbeloa as Xabi Alonso’s replacement last week.

According to Sports Boom, Maresca already has a Chelsea player in mind should he be offered the job to take charge of Madrid.

The report has claimed that Maresca ‘will implore Real Madrid to break protocol and sign’ Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

Cucurella is a former Barcelona youth product who made one appearance for the Catalan giants’ first team.

Madrid do not tend to sign former Barcelona players, but Maresca will still ‘ask’ Los Blancos president Florentino Perez to make a move for Chelsea and Spain international left-back Cucurella.

While Maresca understands that it would be ‘controversial’ of Madrid to sign one of his former Chelsea players who also turned out for Barcelona, according to the report, the former Man City coach views the 27-year-old ‘as arguably the best exponent of the inverted full-backs tactic which is integral to his strategy and has resolved to try and recruit him wherever he pitches up next’.

Alvaro Carreras presence will block Marc Cucurella deal for Real Madrid

According to Sports Boom, Cucurella has ‘no desire’ to leave Chelsea and is happy at the Premier League club.

However, Maresca believes that if Madrid make an offer, then Cucurella’s representatives will at least listen to it.

There is also said to be interest in the Spanish left-back from Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

While Cucurella is a very good left-back and is also brilliant at playing left wing-back, he will be a costly signing for Madrid.

Chelsea paid £60million (€69.2m, $80.3m) to Brighton and Hove Albion for Cucurella in 2022, with the defender under contract at the Blues until the summer of 2028.

While Chelsea are unlikely to be able to recoup £60m (€69.2m, $80.3m), it is hard to envisage the Blues selling the Spaniard for a huge loss.

Moreover, Madrid are not in desperate need to sign a left-back, having secured the services of Alvaro Carreras from Benfica in the summer of 2025.

While the former Manchester United left-back’s performances at Madrid could be better, he has shown enough to suggest that he can be a mainstay at the club for years to come, given that he is still only 22 years of age.

The last five players to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid

By Samuel Bannister

Javier Saviola (2007): The most recent player to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid (or vice versa), Saviola moved on a free transfer in the summer of 2007. The Argentine attacker had scored 70 goals for Barcelona, but he only managed five for Madrid, where he was rarely a regular starter and left after two years.

Luis Figo (2000): The most high-profile example of a player switching between these two clubs, Figo became the most expensive player in history when Madrid activated his €62m buyout clause to lure him from Barcelona in one of football’s most controversial transfers. The Portuguese star won the Ballon d’Or later that year, and infamously, a couple of years later, a pig’s head would be thrown at him at Camp Nou. The time he spent at either club was about equal; over five seasons each, he got 45 goals from 249 games for Barcelona and 58 goals from 245 games for Madrid.

Michael Laudrup (1994): Laudrup was 30 when Madrid bought him from Barcelona in a €9.6m move. His five years at Barcelona had included 55 goals, but he only stayed at Madrid for two years, in which he scored 15 times. But the move did allow him to win LaLiga for a fifth consecutive time in the 1994-95 campaign after ending his Barcelona spell with four in a row.

Luis Milla (1990): Not since the 1960s had a Spanish player moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid until Milla did in 1990 – and none have since him either. A product of the former’s academy, he actually ended up playing more for Madrid. A defensive midfielder, he earned more than 200 appearances for his new club and won La Liga twice after his move, which came on the back of a contract dispute with Johan Cruyff.

Bernd Schuster (1988): Barcelona brought Schuster to La Liga in 1980 and he went on to complete eight seasons with the club. The German midfielder then joined Madrid for a two-year stint, sandwiched in between a spell at their next biggest rivals, since he joined Atletico Madrid afterwards. Schuster later returned to Real Madrid as their head coach to win La Liga in the 2007-08 season.

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Meanwhile, sources have told us that Chelsea are willing to sell one of their best midfielders to Real Madrid for the right price.