Real Madrid had a very active summer transfer window compared to windows in the past. The club brought in a number of new recruits to Jose Mourinho's squad but also, perhaps more importantly, sold a number of players, bringing in huge amounts of money for the club to spend elsewhere. Real brought in around €200 million this summer from player sales and sell-on clauses from players previously sold, and they could have brought in even more.
As being reported by MadridXtra on X, Turkish giants Galatasaray were ready to make a €50 million offer for midfielder Eduardo Camavinga back in July, however the player was not interested in the move.
While some may understand his unwillingness to agree to the move, when looking at it from the club's perspective, when it comes to the prospect of the team as a whole, the Frenchman not wanting to leave may have had a major impact on how the rest of Real Madrid's transfer window played out.
Camavinga could have brought in big money for Los Blancos, but he wasn't interested
Almost all of the transfer talk surrounding Real Madrid this summer was focused on what midfielder the club was going to bring in as this summer seemed like the summer they would finally sign their Toni Kroos replacement.
They were linked with every midfielder imaginable before finally landing on a move for Rodri; however, his arrival depended on a midfield departure, and with Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde viewed as centrepieces of Jose Mourinho's project, that made Camavinga the odd man out and the one most likely to be sold.
Real Madrid needed to offload the Frenchman to get the Rodri deal done and secure their midfield once again after years of midfield struggles, however Camavinga had no interest in leaving and as a result the deal couldn't get done and Rodri wound up signing for Barcelona. This means Jose Mourinho had to go into this season with Bernardo Silva and the midfielders already at the club, and so far, it hasn't been a great start in that area of the pitch.
The midfield is still lacking that composure it needs to be the backbone of the team and had a player like Rodri been brought in, things would look a whole lot different. With the absence of a deep-lying Kroos-type midfielder, Mourinho had tried a number of different players in that role so far this season, including Camavinga himself and still has yet to find his perfect balance.
It's nothing against Camavinga personally but selling him for €50 million could have done wonders for the team as it would have given them not only the funds but the space to complete the Rodri deal and bring in the piece they have been missing for the last few seasons.
However, somewhat understandably, he didn't want to be playing in Turkey at 23 and still believes he has a lot to offer at the Bernabeu. This could prove to be a massive season for the Frenchman, as he will be expected to produce solid performances, and he could ultimately be the reason for another season of midfield disasters at the Bernabeu.
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