Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho insisted heavily on the Merengues signing Marc Cucurella for 60 million euros this summer transfer window from Chelsea, pointing him to Florentino Perez as the one and only fit for him at the left back position.
In general, left back has been a huge problem spot for Real Madrid. Ferland Mendy was amazing defensively and a quality option for Real when he first joined from Lyon for 50 million euros in 2019, but even though he won two Champions League titles, his proneness to injury and lack of technical quality on the ball prevented him from truly being the solution. Really, since Marcelo's decline around 2019, Real Madrid have been lacking badly at the left back position.
Alvaro Carreras is still around and getting one last chance from Mourinho, but there are worries that he is an even bigger waste of 50 million euros for Madrid. Cucurella is more expensive than those guys, but he comes with a pedigree of success in the Premier League for both Chelsea and Brighton - and an even better track record at the international level with the Spanish national team.
Marc Cucurella is bigger than everyone thinks
Real Madrid can only hope that Cucurella's brilliant 2026 World Cup so far is a sign of what is to come at the White House. Left back has been a huge problem spot for Real, and it is a crucial position for the club, looking at how Roberto Carlos and Marcelo owned the flanks over the years.
Cucurella is a totally different profile to the Brazilians, but he may be even more important to Madrid, since Jose Mourinho plans on having him do the dirty work so that Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe can play off the left and focus on attacking.
Furthermore, Real Madrid will stress Cucurella additionally by unbalancing the formation so that Cucurella defends more and Trent Alexander-Arnold gets that license to get forward and create almost like an auxillary midfielder.
Real Madrid are going to ask a lot of Cucurella next season, but if he is as good as he looks for the Spanish national team this World Cup, which is even better than how he looked when they won the 2024 European Championships, then Mourinho and Madrid should have no reservations about either the 60 million euros spent or his ability to live up to that high role. Real Madrid need Cucurella to be this good, because his upgrade at left back could be a real X-Factor in winning trophies again.
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