Real Madrid are going to be buyers in the summer 2026 transfer market again, as there are still some areas of weakness defensively to shore up. Plus, Xabi Alonso was right about Real needing to add a deep lying playmaker in the midfield. Thiago Pitarch's breakout has been a big development, but Real need someone with more creativity and star power to pair with Aurelien Tchouameni as a No. 6.
To make way for a new midfielder, Real Madrid are going to be shopping Dani Ceballos. He has been in transfer rumors for years, and every time Real think about selling him off, he manages to convince the club to keep him.
But his biggest advocate, the man who resurrected him in Carlo Ancelotti, is gone, and now that he is approaching 30 years of age with another significant injury, a return to Real Betis seems to be in the cards after years of speculation.
Dani Ceballos is on the transfer market, for real
Diario AS editor Sergio Lopez reports that Real Madrid are currently asking for 15 million euros on the open market in exchange for Dani Ceballos, and while that is comparatively a modest fee for a player with multiple Champions League titles as a rotational midfielder for the mighty Madrid, it is still a price too steep.
Ceballos is going to be staying in Spain, and the economic reality is such that teams in La Liga can't spend all that much in a transfer fee for the 30 year old midfielder coming off injury. As Diario AS note, Ceballos makes nine million euros per season in salary, and with one year left on his contract, a 15 million euro price point does not make much sense.
Everybody knows Real Madrid are going to sell Ceballos, so there is no guessing and no leverage here. Real are going to make Thiago Pitarch a first team player, Nico Paz is coming back from Como, and there are plans for another midfielder - if not Enzo Fernandez or Rodri, then someone like Angelo Stiller or Adam Wharton.
There is no room for Ceballos. He has given a lot to this club and should always be appreciate, but we have, as Florentino Perez likes to say, come to the end of a cycle. So whether it is 15 million or 5 million euros, the difference is negligible. Accept whatever is valid so that Real Betis can reunite with Ceballos and Real can move on.