Real Madrid ‘earns’ $190 million
Selling players while retaining 50 percent of their rights is proving hugely successful at the Bernabéu.
Over the past few years, Real Madrid have overhauled the way they handle academy players. Previously, when the club wanted a young player to get minutes away from Madrid, the solution was usually a straightforward loan. Now the preferred formula is to sell 50 percent of the player while keeping either a buyback clause or half of any future transfer fee. That approach ensures the receiving club is more invested in the player’s development, since it owns half of his rights and can keep him for more than one season.
Real Madrid’s strategy paying dividends
The strategy is paying off for Real Madrid. At present, the Chamartín club are closely monitoring around 10 players currently away from the Bernabéu. Most of them have significantly increased their market value through these deals. The clearest example is Nico Paz. The Argentine midfielder moved to Como two summers ago with a market value of $11.7 million. According to the latest update from Transfermarkt, he is now valued at $76.1 million.
Como also have another Madrid-developed player on the rise. Jacobo Ramón joined the Italian club last summer valued at just over $1 million and is now worth over $21 million. Another case from this past summer is Chema de Andrés, who moved to Stuttgart with a market value of just under $1 million and has since climbed to over $17 million. Víctor Muñoz at Osasuna and “El Toro” at Elche are similar operations completed last summer.
| Name | Value before leaving | Current value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico Paz | $11.7m | $76.1m | $64.4m |
| Mario Gila | $0.6m | $35.1m | $34.5m |
| Jacobo Ramón | $1.2m | $21.1m | $19.9m |
| Alex Jimenez | $0.1m | $21.1m | $20m |
| Chema de Andrés | $0.9m | $17.6m | $16.5m |
| Victor Muñoz | $1.2m | $11.7m | $10.5m |
| Antonio Blanco | $5.9m | $11.8m | $5.9m |
| Mario Martín | $0.4m | $5.9m | $5.5m |
| Arribas | $5.9m | $9.4m | $3.5m |
| Álvaro Rodríguez | $4.1m | $4.7m | $0.6m |
| Kubo | $35m | $35m | $0 |
Real Madrid are not only tracking players who left recently. Others such as Mario Gila, Álex Jiménez, Antonio Blanco and Sergio Arribas could still return to the Bernabéu or generate further income for the club. The most striking case is Takefusa Kubo. The Japanese international left Madrid valued at $30 million, rose to $70 million, and is now back at $30 million. Neither Real Sociedad nor the player ever took the final step to part ways.
Taking all these increases together, Real Madrid have effectively “earned” getting on for $190 million in market revaluation.
Players sold or brought back
These operations have allowed Real Madrid to increase the value of their players, but there are also cases that have already generated direct income or resulted in returns. Fran García is one such example. The left back went to Rayo Vallecano, impressed there, and was eventually brought back by Madrid.
Rafa Marín and Miguel Gutiérrez no longer belong to the club, but thanks to this formula they generated funds for the Bernabéu that could be reinvested in new signings. Real Madrid changed their approach to academy and young players, and it is now paying off handsomely as their value continues to rise across the market.
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