Real Madrid believe some players are ‘using’ the club as they adopt a stricter transfer policy | OneFootball

Having recently sanctioned Endrick’s loan move to Olympique Lyon, Real Madrid are bracing themselves for a busy 2026.

The club are looking to reinforce the team by eyeing multiple soon-to-be-free agents, having already been linked with moves for Dayot Upamecano, Marc Guehi and Ibrahima Konate, among others.

This comes after the success of signing Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer, while other stars such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rudiger had also joined the club on free deals.

Real Madrid’s big transfer revelation

However, a recent report from Diario AS has indicated that Real Madrid are growing tired of chasing free agents.

Real Madrid believe the agents of some of the players with expiring contracts are trying to use the club and take advantage of their free agent status to market their players.

This has happened in the past with Real Madrid, particularly during the pursuit of Alphonso Davies, where the player used his free agent status to earn a renewal at Bayern Munich.

Real Madrid have abandoned the pursuit of Dayot Upamecano. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Even Dayot Upamecano right now is using the same pattern. The Frenchman had been in talks with Real Madrid for quite some time, but is now close to signing a deal at Bayern.

That is why Real Madrid have adopted a stricter transfer strategy where the club will not engage in any activities, especially around players whose contracts expire in the summer.

This is a massive shift in policy for Real Madrid, who were only chasing defenders with expiring contracts more than a few weeks ago.

The club, of course, do have the luxury of going back to their former academy players, with the likes of Nico Paz, Chema Andres and even Jacobo Ramon in contention to return to Santiago Bernabeu next summer.