Real Madrid wisely did not want to overpay for Christian Eriksen

Few players were as closely linked to Real Madrid as Christian Eriksen during the Fall months, but Los Blancos wisely decided to balk on the midfielder.

Christian Eriksen is undoubtedly an attacking midfielder filled with technical quality. He can provide assists for teammates, change the complexion of a game with a great set piece, or score a screamer from outside the box. But in the likes of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez, Real Madrid already had multiple players capable of doing the same things as Eriksen – and doing them better.

Therefore, Real Madrid seemed to be more interested in signing Eriksen for free in the following summer. Daniel Levy and Tottenham were stingy with Eriksen, refusing to offer a reasonable asking price during summer negotiations. They seemed to think they had a chance at re-signing Eriksen, who openly wanted to seek a new challenge.

According to a new report from MARCA, Levy outrageously asked for 100 million euros in an Eriksen transfer, which Real understandably ignored. Levy’s ridiculous asking price soured the club, as they focused on trying to negotiate with Eriksen separately if he were to hit the open market in the summer of 2020. Of course, Spurs wanted to get at least something in exchange for Eriksen, who is bound for Serie A title contenders Inter at a more palatable price of 20 million euros.

At one point, it seemed like Eriksen would sign with Real Madrid for free. Los Merengues were Eriksen’s dream destination, as they are for most top players.

But Inter look like a better fit for Eriksen, which is why they are the ones set to land him and not Real.

That said, Real shouldn’t have any regrets, since they took the best approach here. Even 20 million euros would have been too much for Eriksen. While that may seem like a bold claim, given the fact that Madrid are reportedly prepared to spend more than 50 million euros on Ajax’s Donny van de Beek, but it’s true.

What would Eriksen offer that Modric, Kroos, Isco, and others don’t? He’s a quality player, but at Real Madrid, he would be nothing more than a bench option. Eriksen doesn’t defend particularly well, isn’t dynamic on the ball, and isn’t a better passer or shooter than Kroos. And at the age of 27, he may be younger than Kroos, but not by enough to justify a transfer.

On a free, Eriksen would be a steal on the strength of his quality. But even for 20 million euros, Real are better off pocketing the money to use to save for Kylian Mbappe (every cent counts) or sign a talented young player. Spending 30 million euros on an attacking midfielder like Reinier Jesus is an investment. But spending 20 million euros on Eriksen, even if he’s the objectively better player in 2020, is a sunk cost.

Real Madrid are both a football club seeking championships and a business seeking profit. How much would Eriksen help them in either as compared to say, van de Beek or Reinier? Probably not by much. He’s a great signing for Inter, but Real did well to resist Spurs’ bloated offers in the summer and even their reasonable requested fees this winter.