Cucurella bucks Real Madrid trend as Spain held to shock draw by Cape Verde | OneFootball

Following Real Madrid’s agreement with Chelsea to bring Marc Cucurella to the Santiago Bernabeau, the wing-back has bucked an eye-catching trend for the Spanish giants.

The 2026 World Cup marked the first major tournament where no Madrid player was selected to represent the Spanish national team, while El Clásico rivals Barcelona saw eight of their first-team’s Spanish players called up.

Although that record still stands with Cucurella’s move from Stamford Bridge for £51.8m just hours before Spain’s opening match against the World Cup’s second smallest nation, Cape Verde, it could be the start of Madrid’s strategy to recover from a trophyless season.

Many of the best talents that have emerged in Spanish football over the past few seasons have managed to get regular experience playing for their country, which is a necessary ingredient in order to develop into a truly world-class footballer.

Though this is a non-issue for Real Madrid on first glance, with 11 of their players called up to play for nine different nations at this year’s World Cup, the majority of Barca’s title-winning team represent the current European champions.

Among them are Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Gavi, but also 19-year-old centre-back Pau Cubarsí – a product of the La Liga champions’ famous academy system, La Masia.

Madrid often came unstuck due to their defensive issues on the pitch, while Cubarsí – a defender that has shown maturity and a level of playing quality beyond his years – was a key asset to Hansi Flick’s success at the Spotify Camp Nou this season.

Their last starting lineup featured five Spaniards, though none of Dani Carvajal, Raúl Acensio, Alvaro Carreras, Thiago Pitarch, or Gonzarlo Garcia were deemed to have had impressive enough seasons to participate in the tournament.

As it happens, Cucurella began his career in the same place as Cubarsí and could represent a statement of intent by Madrid in signing one of Spain’s current best players having produced eight of Barca’s title winners, to help them to seize their crown next season.

The former Chelsea man has 24 caps, one goal, and a European championship under his belt with Spain, in addition to nine goals in over 150 at Stamford Bridge, and represents the kind of quality that Madrid must bring in to start winning trophies again.

With the addition of Cucurella, Jose Mourinho’s new employers may also have sparked a chain reaction that will also see Xabi Alonso’s want-away captain Enzo Fernandez, who was dropped by Liam Rosenior for expressing the desire for a move to Madrid.

Whether or not both players will represent Madrid come the start of the 2026/27 La Liga season and whether they are capable of playing a prominent role in reversing Los Blancos’ fortunes in the league remains to be seen.

If anything, it might come as a source of concern if Cucurella and his Spain teammates weren’t able to find a winner against Cape Verde – the second smallest nation to ever grace the tournament.

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