So, it's official. Leny Yoro will not become a Real Madrid player, after being a Real Madrid transfer target for so long. Instead, he has signed for Manchester United and he will begin as a new Old Trafford player in the 2024/25 season.
Despite Carlo Ancelotti's calm throughout the entire transfer proceedings, this is obviously frustrating for Real Madrid fans to see. After all, many fans harboured hopes of seeing Leny Yoro in the royal white Real Madrid jersey, if not this summer then in 2025. Instead, they will have to cope with seeing Yoro at Old Trafford.
It's not often that Real Madrid fans must swallow the bitter pill of defeat in the transfer window. After all, they're the biggest club in the world and they're incredibly productive nine times out of ten in the transfer market. This only makes the missed opportunities harder to take, since it's an unusual feeling for Los Blancos.
Fabrizio Romano reveals why Real Madrid missed Leny Yoro transfer
But why exactly did Real Madrid miss out on the Leny Yoro transfer? Surely if they were set on the transfer, they would have stopped at nothing to get him. After all, it's well-documented that Real Madrid are in a healthy financial position, so competition from Manchester United should have been secondary.
Well, everyone has their own theories but in truth, the answer is simple. The answer has been provided by Fabrizio Romano on X, who gave more details on why Manchester United pipped Real Madrid to the Leny Yoro transfer.
⚪️🇫🇷 Real Madrid, also informed of Leny Yoro’s travel to Manchester to finalize his move to United.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 17, 2024
Real have always been clear: €20/25m for Yoro this summer or join as free agent in 2025.
He’s now in Manchester to undergo medical at Man United. 🔴🩺 pic.twitter.com/zZNEoJyeeL
Fabrizio Romano claimed that Real Madrid were only prepared to pay €20/25m for Leny Yoro this summer, otherwise they would wait to sign him on a free deal in the 2025 summer transfer window.
This was Real Madrid's ultimate downfall, as Manchester United swooped in, paid the quoted price from LOSC, and got their man in the end.
In many ways, Real Madrid should learn from this costly mistake. Yes, the gigantic Spanish club has the best pulling power in the world but this doesn't mean they're bulletproof in the transfer window. Florentino Perez cannot always have things his way, so going forward, he may have to make more compromises to sign the players he would like.
It must be noted that Real Madrid have lined up some alternative transfers on their summer shortlist. They have been linked to the likes of William Saliba and Piero Hincapie, with both players showing great potential to fill in for Leny Yoro and even act as upgrades.