3 transfer mistakes that cost Real Madrid a Champions League title

3) Letting Achraf Hakimi and Marcos Llorente go

This one is less obvious than the other two on the list, but honestly, it’s very important to look at it. Hakimi was becoming one of the world’s best young right-backs during his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, and Marcos Llorente was performing really well in the limited minutes he received while he was at Real Madrid. Llorente was let go in the summer of 2019, while Hakimi was shipped off to Inter in the summer of 2020. Why?

I don’t really know why, because it seemed like after the sale of Mateo Kovacic, and the surprising decline of James Rodriguez and Isco, Real Madrid could’ve really used some of what Marcos Llorente had to offer. At Atletico, he was truly unleashed, realising his powers in the offense, while being really solid in defense.

Honestly, Real Madrid could’ve used a lot of that, especially in the 2019-20 season, when Casemiro was purposefully targeted as a pressing trigger against teams like Manchester City. Llorente could’ve become that press resistant player in the midfield, and honestly, we could’ve even used Llorente in subsequent seasons (See: game against Chelsea last season). He was the player Real needed in midfield, and they let him go.

As for Hakimi, it was a bit different. Letting him join Inter was understandable, the timelines just didn’t match. But, not bringing him back when Real had the option in 2021? That was when it actually infuriated me. I’ve said this time and time again, Real Madrid could’ve used a right-back like Hakimi when we saw how injury-prone Dani Carvajal had become. He was injured for such long stretches of the season in 2021, and Real Madrid still went ahead and offered him an extension, instead of using their right of first refusal to re-sign Hakimi. It’s so baffling. Why would you do that?

Now, if you combine Llorente and Hakimi (who might still join next season, according to rumors of him being unhappy at PSG) and bring them into this Real Madrid side, you could honestly argue that these players would’ve brought home a big-eared trophy because they would’ve been able to give Real Madrid exactly what the club needed. Solidity and production on the right, and some energy, press resistance and dynamism in the midfield, alongside the veterans. Honestly, Llorente is versatile enough to play on the right-wing as well. It’d have been insanely useful.

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Just imagine how well Valverde, Llorente and Camavinga together could’ve done, such a shame we never really got to see that happen.