How Marc Cucurella’s signing benefits Real Madrid beyond the pitch | OneFootball

The fullback Marc Cucurella is one of the players that Real Madrid have already signed this summer, and this signing is already proving to be a very good move for the Merengues.

For instance, this move allowed them to have representation in the Spanish squad for the World Cup 2026, as there were no Real Madrid players in Luis de la Fuente’s list before Cucurella was signed. Ultimately, this also brought a share of the World Cup glory to the Merengue club, as Spain ended up winning the biggest international trophy.

Furthermore, the Spaniard was one of the three Merengue players who featured on the FIFA World Cup Best XI voted by fans. After the tournament, he also saw his valuation at Transfermarkt rise to €60 million, meaning a direct increase in the value of an asset the club had obtained only a few days earlier.

Meanwhile, his arrival will provide a sporting benefit to Los Blancos as well, beyond the clear addition of a world class player on the left flank. As Mundo Deportivo has noted, with his arrival, Real Madrid meet the criterion of at least 8 locally trained players in the squad that is required to play in the Champions League and other UEFA competitions.

UEFA regulations stipulate that from a 25-player squad, every team should have at least 8 locally trained players. For the Merengues, this means players trained at their own academy or any other academy in Spain while they were between 15 and 21 years of age.

Marc Cucurella started his journey in Barcelona’s youth academy, before continuing to train at Eibar and Getafe, and then embarking on a move to Chelsea. Thus, he meets the locally trained criterion.

Other players in the Real Madrid ranks who meet this criterion are Andriy Lunin, Raul Asencio, Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, and Arda Guler.