Real Madrid have signed Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, and Ibrahima Konate to revamp their defense, and a center back quartet of Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger, and Konate does look significantly better than what Real had last season at their disposal.
But understandably, Jose Mourinho is not yet done overhauling this defense, and he has designs on one more top center back to join the team, preferably a left footed player. For many Madridistas, the ultimate dream target is Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan, who is very much in play, but the Portuguese manager has seemed to value Ruben Dias of Manchester City the highest in view of his experience.
Real Madrid have already signed one experienced Man City player at the behest of Mourinho in Bernardo Silva, but he was also a free agent and a player City were ready to move on from after a poor 2025/26 season. The other big player Mou and Madrid wanted, Josko Gvardiol, is signing a contract extension and was very quickly deemed off limits by the Citizens.
The fans have a different CB for Real Madrid
Now, according to a report from Mario Cortegana of The Athletic, Ruben Dias is in the same boat. The 29 year old Premier League superstar is said to be highly unlikely to move to Real Madrid this summer transfer window, because Manchester CIty do not at all want to sell the player.
With Pep Guardiola leaving, there is more speculation around players who could leave Man City, and midfielder Rodri, for example, is one of them - and dreaming of Madrid, though the Royal Whites are not interested in him.
They do want Dias, but Man City are not in the business of fire selling their squad. The players like Josko Gvardiol and Dias who are still there pillars are not up for grabs, and while there is nothing reported about Dias being impossible to untouchable, the reality is that Man City are going to make it just about impossible for Real Madrid to buy with the prices they will quote, just like with Gvardiol.
Real Madrid are also looking at Nico Schlotterbeck and Alessandro Bastoni at the center back position. Schlotterbeck has a release clause valued around 50 to 60 million euros, but after suffering a World Cup ending ligament injury, all signs may be pointing to Bastoni as the main target. And for many Real Madrid fans, he is both younger and better than Dias anyway, so while Mourinho may not be happy with Man City's stance, Madridistas will turn their attention to Bastoni.
Add us as a preferred source on Google