Real Madrid have been one of the biggest players in the summer transfer window this year, and as they push to land both Rodri and Yan Diomande to add the two biggest names yet, their most important move of the summer may have already been sealed prior to the World Cup.
Jose Mourinho demanded that president Florentino Perez spend 60 million euros on Chelsea's starting left back Marc Cucurella, telling the club's leadership that the Spanish national team star was the one and only option for him tactically. And Cucurella went out and proved Mourinho 100 percent right as the best left back of the World Cup tournament, hoisting the trophy in the end after several legendary performances, including shutting down both Michael Olise and Lionel Messi.
Cucurella comes to Real Madrid as the locked in starter for Mourinho, replacing a player Real spent nearly as much money on in 2025, Alvaro Carreras, a former academy player with a 50 million euro transfer fee from Benfica. Xabi Alonso was desperate to sign Carreras, even above his more experienced player from Bayer Leverkusen in Spanish international Alejandro Grimaldo.
Alvaro Carreras is nobody's favorite
Carreras was awful, though, and as the season went on, his attitude issues and poor defending became an even bigger issue for Real Madrid. And unlike Marc Cucurella, Carreras got completely cooked by Michael Olise, playing a pivotal role in Real's Champions League knockout demise.
With Cucurella joining for 60 million euros and playing at the highest level as a perfect fit for Jose Mourinho with his defensive quality and intensity, Alvaro Carreras is on the outside looking in and may barely play for the club going forward.
If anything, it is a surprise that Mourinho and Real Madrid have not already moved on from the Spanish international. Alvaro Arbeloa and the club's coaching staff had major issues with his effort and blatant disrespect, and at the beginning of the window, it looked like Mourinho would not give him a shot, too. And Xabi Alonso and Chelsea looked like a landing spot in a "swap" of left backs.
However, Carreras is still at th Santiago Bernabeu for at least one more season. The thing is, he is running out of time to change the narrative that Madridistas have about him, which is that Carreras is a massive 50 million euro transfer bust whom the club should have never signed in the first place.
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