Real Madrid decide where to spend ‘first €100m’ after Klopp ‘accepts’ deal to become new manager | OneFootball

Real Madrid have decided to spend their ‘first €100m’ of the summer on Manchester City midfielder Rodri and Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck as Jurgen Klopp closes in on becoming their new manager, according to reports.

Los Blancos sacked Xabi Alonso at the beginning of January after the La Liga side lost in the Spanish Super Cup final to arch-rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid took the decision to hire Alvaro Arbeloa on the same day in a fluid process after rumours that some of the players were unhappy with Alonso’s tactics and team selection.

There are already rumours that Arbeloa could be replaced at the end of the season with former Liverpool boss Klopp, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and Benfica’s Jose Mourinho all linked.

A report on Thursday insisted that Klopp has already ‘agreed’ to become the new Real Madrid manager in the summer ‘in exchange for a signing and the departure of’ two players.

As well as that, Klopp is keen to see the departures of Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga in order to agree his arrival at the Bernabeu.

And now Real Madrid are looking to press ahead with their own transfer plans and Onda Cero journalist Alberto Pereiro has revealed that Man City midfielder Rodri and Dortmund centre-back Schlotterbeck – who have already been heavily linked – will be their first two signings.

Pereiro said on Radioestadio, a Onda Cero programme: “The first 100 million from Madrid this summer go to sign Rodrigo and Schlotterbeck”.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insisted that Rodri is finally getting back to his best in a Citizens shirt.

Guardiola told reporters: “Finally it’s happening like we wanted a long time ago, when he came back, to not have setbacks, have consistency to play, play, and play.

“But now we play a lot, long travels away where fatigue is involved – travelling to Madrid, coming back, travelling to London (for West Ham next up in the Premier League), four or five hours to the hotel.”

Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Real Madrid are “active” as they look for defenders ahead of the summer with Schlotterbeck being watched a lot by scouts.

Romano said earlier this week: “I can confirm that Real Madrid sent their people to follow the performances of Nico Schlotterbeck not just in the recent months, but in the recent days and weeks.

“Real Madrid people were in attendance for Bayern vs Dortmund [last weekend] to follow the performance of Schlotterbeck and I can confirm that.

“Schlotterbeck is aware of Real Madrid interest, and he knows it’s a possibility for the summer. I see Real Madrid active for defenders in the summer. Then it depends on the player, who is out of contract in the summer of 2027.

“Yes, he’s one of the options for Real Madrid, but there is nothing advanced in terms of bid of negotiations.”