Alavés renew Pacheco but Madrid retain buy-back option
The Bernabéu board inserted a purchase option into the deal taking keeper to Alavés, where he has been one of the sensations of the season.
Fernando Pacheco is having a stand-out season with Alavés and the club rewarded their 24-year-old keeper with a new contract on Thursday after he helped the side into the final of the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid buy-back option
Pacheco has signed a new deal running until 2020 but Alavés may yet find competition for his long-term future from his previous club, Real Madrid, who inserted a four-million-euro buy-back clause into the deal taking him to Mendizorrotza in the summer of 2015. However, the Bernabéu board will have to act quickly if they are to exercise it: the option expires this summer.
The 10 most effective keepers in the league
| Player | Team | Saves | Save % | Games | Minutes |
| Asenjo | Villarreal | 63 | 81,82 | 21 | 1.890 |
| López | Espanyol | 65 | 81,25 | 18 | 1.583 |
| Ter Stegen | Barcelona | 57 | 80,28 | 19 | 1.710 |
| Navas | Real Madrid | 31 | 73,81 | 13 | 1.170 |
| Rico | Sevilla | 66 | 73,33 | 19 | 1.710 |
| Pacheco | Alavés | 58 | 72,5 | 20 | 1.800 |
| Adán | Real Betis | 78 | 71,3 | 20 | 1.800 |
| Oblak | Atlético de Madrid | 31 | 70,45 | 15 | 1.300 |
| Ochoa | Granada CF | 88 | 66,67 | 21 | 1.890 |
| Rulli | Real Sociedad | 60 | 66,67 | 21 | 1.890 |
Source: OPTA.
Only keepers who have played more than 12 games included.
Pacheco signed an initial three-year deal with Alavés after finding his chances limited at the Bernabéu, where he was third-choice keeper. Madrid may decide to trigger the purchase option to then sell Pacheco on for a higher fee.
Alavés clean sheets
The keeper’s stock has risen further after a stellar performance in the Copa semi-finals, where he kept a clean sheet in both legs against Celta, who in turn knocked Madrid out in the quarter-finals. Pacheco has only missed one Liga match this season and has kept seven clean sheets in 20 games, helping Alavés to the position of the fifth-stingiest defence in the division.
