The links between Liverpool and Real Madrid this season have been alarmingly regular for sides that are supposed to be direct rivals.
Madrid’s defeat of the Reds in the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals were tough pills to swallow, but running Los Blancos off the pitch a few weeks ago was a welcome tonic.
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There has been constant chatter of Trent Alexander-Arnold potentially heading to the Spanish capital should he choose to not renew his contract on Merseyside, and Jude Bellingham is reportedly constantly working to convince his friend to leave his boyhood club.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have been linked to both Real Madrid stars Rodrygo and Aurelien Tchouameni for the entirety of the season. This is part of their need to replace Mo Salah in the long term and Arne Slot’s desire to solidify his midfield.
And Spanish outlet Fichajes are now reporting that Real Madrid have logged their interest in Dominik Szoboszlai.
Could Szoboszlai leave Liverpool for Real Madrid?
The Liverpool midfielder had an up and down start to the season, eventually being benched for Curtis Jones, but has done himself a real service as late, starting four of the past six games and even scoring in Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Southampton.
As a result, he has caught eyes on the continent. The report states that:“His ability to influence both in attack and defence has made him an essential player for the team… This has not gone unnoticed in the offices of Real Madrid, who see him as an interesting option to strengthen the midfield for the coming seasons.”
They do note, however, that the transfer fee itself could be a problem. They suggest Szoboszlai’s “current market value is €75m [£62m]”, and that luring him away from Anfield could require an offer of €100m [£82.7m].
This is the area where Madrid would surely fall short. Despite being the highest revenue-generating club in the world, their strategy of late has been to seek free transfers that they can maximise wages and signing bonuses on instead.
This was how they acquired Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba over recent years. But the buying of Jude Bellingham and Tchouameni shows their willingness to reach into their pockets should they deem it necessary.
Szoboszlai joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in a £60m deal back in the summer of 2023. His value certainly hasn’t fallen since then, meaning the £80m+ figure quoted by Fichajes wouldn’t be too surprising of a demand.
There is, of course, the possibility of a swap deal in some form. With all of Szoboszlai, Tchouameni and Rodrygo’s contracts running until summer 2028, none of them will come cheap.
It might be in every party’s best interest to figure out which players they value the most.
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