How much did Real Madrid pay to sign Tchouaméni from Monaco?
The 22-year-old France international has signed a six-year deal at the Bernabéu for a fee of up to €100m.
Real Madrid have officially signed Aurélien Tchouaméni from Monaco for a fee of €80 million, with another €20m in add-ons. The 22-year-old midfielder has signed a six-year deal at the Bernabéu and becomes Carlo Ancelotti’s second reinforcement of the off-season after the arrival of Antonio Rüdiger on a free transfer from Chelsea. According to reports in France, Tchouaméni turned down a move to PSG to join Madrid, which will be a measure of some consolation to Florentino Pérez after the European champions missed out on Kylian Mbappé.
The arrival of Tchouaméni will allow Ancelotti to hand Casemiro more rests, with the youngster recovering possession for Monaco last season more than any other player in Europe. In the medium to long-term, the France international is seen as the ideal replacement for the 30-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder. The new arrival will be officially presented at the Bernabéu on 14 June.
Tchouaméni’s style of play
The 22-year-old recovered the ball at a rate of 6.7 per 90 minutes last season, a staggering statistic and one of the reasons he was courted by half of Europe before settling on Madrid. Standing at 1.85m tall and weighing in at 80 kilos, Tchouaméni also has a significant amount of stamina and huge lower body strength, which allows him to come off best in most challenges and provides him with strong balance. Few players can say they have won a challenge with the midfielder. “He is not a kid, he’s a man,” said Paul Pogba of his France teammate. “He is an extraordinary talent.”
As well as his physical presence, Tchouaméni is also a good reader of the game and able to marshal a back line. He racked up a pass completion rate of 85%, with 80% of those going forward. He always plays with his head up and looking to get toward the opposition goal, although he is not a dribbler per se (1.25 per game last season), favouring control and quick touches. Tchouaméni averages 1.6 shots per game and provides an aerial threat from set-pieces.
Tchouaméni was born in Ruan, a small municipality in the north of France and came through the youth academy at Bordeaux after starting his career at SJ D’Artigues. He made his first-team debut for the club in a Europa League game against FK Ventspils in 2018-19 and made 19 appearances in all competitions in his first professional campaign.
France call-up
He signed for Monaco for €18 million in January 2020 and went on to make 95
appearances in two-and-a-half season for the Ligue 1 side, scoring eight goals. Last season he missed only two games, making 50 appearances in all competitions and bagging five times. In August 2021, he received his first call-up from Didier Deschamps and now has 11 caps for France, scoring his first international goal in March of this year in a 2-1 friendly win against Ivory Coast.