Three days before Real Madrid start pre-season ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, there are still several departures expected at Los Blancos.
The squad, aside from the internationals who played at the Copa America and the European Under-21 Championship, will be at Valdebebas on July 8 for pre-season before they travel to Montreal on Tuesday.
There are already five players who have left the club, with two coming in the last few hours, while there are still a few whose futures remain unclear.
Marcos Llorente was the first to leave as he joined Atletico Madrid for 40 million euros. The next to say his goodbyes was Mateo Kovacic after making his loan move to Chelsea permanent for a fee of 45m euros. The most recent sale was Raul de Tomas, with the striker joining Benfica for 20m euros. Today, two season-long loan deals were confirmed: Sergio Reguilon to Sevilla, and Martin Odegaard to Real Sociedad.
The next to depart: Theo, James, Ceballos…
In total, Madrid have made 105m euros from sales and that figure is expected to increase in the coming days. Theo Hernandez is expected to be the next player to bid farewell to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu as he will join AC Milan for 20m euros.
Keylor Navas’ exit seems apparent, though there is no clear resolution for the Costa Rican goalkeeper. He knows first hand that Thibaut Courtois will be Los Blancos’ No.1 next season and he wants to have minutes, but thus far there has not been any concrete offers for Keylor. Another player with an uncertain future is Jesus Vallejo, one of Spain’s stars at the European Under-21 Championship.
However, one of those departing who is expecting to bring in a sizeable transfer fee is James Rodriguez. The Colombian is not in Zinedine Zidane’s plans for the 2019/20 campaign, and Napoli are on the verge of wrapping up a deal for the playmaker.
Dani Ceballos has plenty of interest, notably from England, and finding a suitor for him, another of La Rojita’s stars at the European Under-21 Championship, will not be difficult. Another member of the squad with a lot of interest from England is Lucas Vazquez, and the winger could join Arsenal in the coming days.
Finally, Gareth Bale’s time at the Bernabeu is expected to come to an end. Madrid have not received any offers for the Welshman, which means that Bale will join up with the squad for pre-season, despite knowing that he is not in Zidane’s plans. The head coach sent a message to the 29-year-old by not playing him in the final three games of last season, but he will have to remain at the club until a resolution is found with regard to his future.