Maybe that's what happens when you go tropy less for two straight seasons, but president Florentino Perez and Real Madrid have fundamentally changed a lot about how they operate as a club this summer as far as their transfer strategy goes.
Real Madrid, for the first time ever, are giving the power to a manager, as Jose Mourinho is the one recommending signings and having Florentino and the club immediately sanctioning, negotiating, and completing the deals for the players he specifically wants.
They have also divested from their strategy of mostly focusing on young players with superstar potential and only signing veteran players on free agent deals, and, in total, Real Madrid are focusing on more established veterans who can start or help the squad immediately.
Real Madrid value the World Cup again
There is one more way Real Madrid are changing how they operate this summer, though. According to a report from Diario AS, via the Madrid Zone, Real Madrid want to sign players who are shining at the World Cup and focus on players who are having a big showing at the tournament.
In the distant past, Real Madrid did go after World Cup standouts, and one of their most famous World Cup signings was signing the breakout star of the 2014 World Cup tournament, Colombian James Rodriguez, who would go on to become a beloved playmaker and highlight reel goal scorer for Real Madrid in their best modern Champions League era before fizzling out.
But thereafter, Real Madrid took a different approach. They started to avoid international tournaments and signing players who stood out in these games, believing that with the fatigue of the schedule and the watering down of the tournaments, it was easier for certain players to falsely stand out, and both the level of competition and sample size were more conducive to spending big on transfer busts rather than unearthing true gems.
It looks like Real Madrid have changed their stance at the 2026 World Cup, even with an expanded tournament and fatigue still being an issue. Perhaps they are looking at international signings from the past they missed out on, like former Copa America baller Luis Diaz in 2021, or they are realizing there really are a lot of great players who make a difference at the World Cup - including their own signing before the World Cup, Denzel Dumfries. All of this means to keep Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi squarely on the radar.
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