Gabri Veiga, Real Madrid’s alternative to Bellingham
Bellingham is Real Madrid’s priority to reinforce the midfield, but it is not the only option. Celta Vigo’s Veiga is Spanish, young and reasonably priced.
Jude Bellingham is the priority signing for Real Madrid this summer, but it is by no means the only option being managed to strengthen the midfield. There are other names on the table and one that has shone brilliantly since the season got underway is that of Gabri Veiga, one of the revelations of LaLiga. Veiga, who turns 21 next month, has contributed nine goals and three assists in 25 games for Celta Vigo.
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Veiga meets a profile that Real Madrid has been pursuing in recent years: Firstly, he’s Spanish (important to meet the quota of players coached in Spanish football required by UEFA), he’s young, with a lot of projection and comes at an affordable price. Madrid brought in players like Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos in similar operations, along with other foreign players with a similar profile such as Ødegaard, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Valverde...
And pricewise, Veiga is well within Madrid’s budget. He has a release clause of 40 million euros - an amount that Celta have tried to increase since the season started, without success. Madrid have paid similar amounts in recent years for the likes of Rodrygo (40M) and Vinicius (45M) - two success stories. There is also Endrick (35M fixed, and another 25 million in add-ons), who is due to arrive in July 2024 after he has turned 18.
Madrid-Celtic relationship
Although obviously the interest in Veiga depends on the decisions that are made before in the center of the field. It remains to be seen if Modric, Kroos and Ceballos are going to renew their contracts or if they will leave this summer. If all three decide not to continue at the club, the chances of Madrid going for Veiga will skyrocket.
What is clear is that Madrid will not negotiate to lower Celta’s asking price for Veiga. Club president Carlos Mouriño explained days ago that the Galician club does not want to sell the player and assumes that the 40 million euro would be enough of a deterrent. Mouriño also said that Madrid have not contacted him. The relationship between the two clubs has been distant since Madrid signed promising youngster Bryan Bugarín a couple of years ago. Bugarín is now 14 years old and plays for Real Madrid’s Infantil A team.