The inside story of how Real Madrid pulled off €60 million signing of Marc Cucurella amid Barcelona links | OneFootball

Real Madrid have officially completed the signing of Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, with the Spanish international signing a six-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu, keeping him at the club until 2032. 

Real Madrid will pay an initial €55 million for the left-back, with the total package potentially rising to €60 million through performance-related bonuses.

Cucurella returns to La Liga after spending the last five seasons in England, where he represented Brighton and Chelsea. 

While his future had been heavily linked with both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in recent weeks, it was Real Madrid who moved to secure his signature.

Notably, the operation was completed in a little more than 24 hours once the club decided to push forward with the transfer.

An interesting back story

For much of the summer, Cucurella appeared destined for a return to Barcelona.

Real Madrid have signed Marc Cucurella. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

The left-back had previously indicated that a move back to Spain appealed to him, while Barcelona were frequently mentioned as his preferred destination. 

However, despite the strong links, a deal never advanced beyond the initial stages.

One of the major obstacles was Barcelona’s financial situation. The club viewed the departure of Alejandro Balde as a necessary condition before seriously exploring a move for Cucurella. 

With no immediate progress on that front and the World Cup already underway, negotiations were expected to drag on.

On the other hand, Real Madrid took a completely different approach.

Rather than entering lengthy discussions, Los Blancos moved quickly and were willing to meet Chelsea’s financial demands. 

Hence, once Real Madrid decided Cucurella was the right profile, the deal accelerated rapidly.

Mourinho’s call helped seal the transfer

Cucurella always wanted to return to Spain. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

According to Mundo Deportivo, citing sources close to the player, one conversation proved crucial in bringing the operation to life.

While with the Spanish national team in Chattanooga ahead of the World Cup, Cucurella received a call from Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.

Following Cucurella’s willingness to join the project, the Real Madrid coach reportedly ended the conversation by saying, “If you’re on board, leave it to me.”

From that moment, events moved quickly, and by the following day, news of the agreement had become public and shortly afterwards, Real Madrid officially announced the signing.

Lastly, another factor that worked in Real Madrid’s favour is that his family had long planned to settle in Madrid in the future, as his wife has been a lifelong Real Madrid supporter.

Hence, the opportunity to make that move earlier than expected ultimately became impossible to ignore.