Real Madrid Transfers: Three surprising sales that could be made in 2022

3. Takefusa Kubo

Takefusa Kubo is another player that was viewed as a tremendous potential investment by Real Madrid but is now left with just fading dreams. In his earlier days, the player was given a shed by FC Barcelona (where he was dubbed “The Japanese Messi”), and his talent was so great that Real went to fight with the Catalan club to steal his move to the Spanish city in 19/20 following a season-long loan at Yokohama FC. Kubo, on the other hand, has had the misfortune of only being able to wear the Real Madrid crest during pre-seasons due to his multiple and now third loan term away from the club.

These loans were made with the intention of nurturing the youngster’s skills and eventually bringing him back to Real Madrid, but the situation has turned completely around. In his debut season with RCD Mallorca in 2019/20, Kubo managed to score four goals and provide four assists in a total of 2309 minutes played, which is rather outstanding for an 18-year-old, after which he was snatched up by Unai Emery of Villareal, where things did not go as planned for him.

The offensive midfielder struggled to obtain minutes under Emery, prompting the club to make quick changes and recall Kubo, only to send him packing to Getafe. The following stop was Mallorca, where he is now back to the struggle part.

Numerous loans and the inability to find pace in any of these locations have created numerous worries about Kubo’s future with Real Madrid, with most of them concluding in the south. But the issue with his future at Real isn’t with him; it’s with how crowded his position at the club is right now.

The 20-year-old is a natural winger and so has the same problem as Rodrygo: a crowded region with no openings. Marco Asensio, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe (maybe), Eden Hazard – Kubo’s skill may appear to compete with these names in the abstract, but his stats do not. With so many hopefuls currently vying for the job, he has no chance of earning any playing time.

To add to the commotion, European teams are only permitted to register a restricted number of non-EU players. A club in La Liga may only have three non-EU players in its roster at any given moment, and Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes, and Eder Militao have already taken that spot, once again, leaving no room for Kubo.

Though it is apparent that the Japanese prodigy has a bright future, it does not appear to be at Real Madrid. This demonstrates how luck may be as essential as talent in determining a football player’s fate. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a fact.