Real Madrid have taken a stance on Gonzalo Garcia’s future amid interest from Leeds United and Sunderland, according to a report, as Los Blancos manager Xabi Alonso’s views on the young striker come to light.
Garcia is not a household Madrid name at the moment, but the 21-year-old striker’s impressive performances for Los Blancos at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup are quickly making him a fan favourite. The Spaniard has scored two goals and given one assist in three matches at the competition so far, with Los Blancos reaching the Round of 16 as group winners.
However, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick in the Madrid squad, Garcia is unlikely to become a regular starter next season.
According to Fichajes, clubs are queuing up for Garcia, with Leeds already making a huge bid.
Leeds, who will play in the Premier League next season after winning automatic promotion from the Championship, are on the hunt for a new striker.
Although Lukas Nmecha has already joined Daniel Farke’s side as a free agent, Leeds are still looking for another striker, especially as Patrick Bamford has proven to be injury-prone and is also 31 now.
Fichajes has claimed that Leeds are ‘willing to pay €20million (£17m, $23.5m) for Gonzalo Garcia’.
The West Yorkshire club’s ‘offer’ is said to be ‘the most attractive’, with Sunderland, AS Roma and Real Oviedo also having ‘contacted’ Madrid about Garcia and making ‘big offers’.
Madrid do not want to lose control of Garcia and want to make sure that they can bring him back if he does well elsewhere.
According to the report, Madrid want a buy-out clause valued at €30m (£25.7m, $35m) in Garcia’s contract should he leave this summer.
Sunderland, who, like Leeds, have won promotion to the Premier League for the 2025/26 campaign, are ‘willing to offer a loan with a mandatory purchase option if they manage to stay in the English top flight’. That option would be around €15m (£13m, $17.6m) plus €5m (£4.3m, $6m) in variables.
Both Roma and Oviedo have contacted Madrid and have told Los Blancos that they want a loan deal for Garcia without a purchase option.
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What Xabi Alonso has said about Gonzalo Garcia
Fichajes is not one of the most reliable sources, so the claim that Madrid are willing to sell Garcia this summer has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Garcia has come through the Madrid youth system and is rated very highly within the Spanish club.
While the 21-year-old is not going to find it easy to play week in and week out for Madrid, Alonso has been impressed with what he has seen of the striker, who has been compared to Los Blancos legend Raul.
Goal quoted Alonso as saying about Garcia on June 27: “I had no doubts about Gonzalo. What he’s doing isn’t a surprise. He’s done it many times at Castilla. At least for him.
“He’s the typical number nine, who knows how to wait for his opportunity, who moves well.
“I’m very happy for him. He has Raul qualities in his movements. There are no decisions regarding the start of next season.”
The Spanish media have consistently claimed in recent weeks that Madrid are looking for a new striker with the profile of Joselu, who can make an impact as a substitute and can play in and around the opposition’s penalty box.
While the likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Roberto Firmino and Tolu Arokodare have been linked with Madrid, Alonso could just decide to keep faith in Garcia.
A Real Madrid-centric news outlet, Real Madrid Confidential, has claimed that Alonso has convinced Garcia to stay.
Celta de Vigo, Getafe and Osasuna are keen on a loan deal for Garcia, but the 21-year-old is now likely to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu for the 2025/26 campaign.
While the summer transfer window is open, anything is possible, but Garcia’s impressive performances and Alonso’s praise indicate that his immediate future lies at Madrid.
Gonzalo Garcia profile: Everything you need to know
By Samuel Bannister
Who was your money on for Real Madrid’s first goalscorer under Xabi Alonso? Kylian Mbappe? Vinicius Junior? Jude Bellingham, perhaps?
Instead, it was Gonzalo Garcia, who scored Madrid’s first goal at the Club World Cup in their draw with Al Hilal.
But it wasn’t Garcia’s first foray into the Madrid first team. Carlo Ancelotti gave the attacker his senior debut in November 2023, when he was 19 years old.
Garcia originally joined the Madrid youth ranks in 2014, spending four years there before a move to Mallorca brought on by family circumstances. A year later, though, he was back in Madrid.
A member of Madrid’s Castilla (reserves) side since March 2022, although he still played for the under-19s and was the top scorer at that age bracket in the 2022-23 season, Garcia achieved new heights in 2024-25.
In fact, he scored 25 goals for the Castilla side last season, equalling a team record for a single campaign.
Garcia is yet to get off the mark from his first five LaLiga appearances, but they have all been as a substitute. The promise he is now showing in other competitions is encouraging.
Mainly a centre-forward, Garcia can play on either wing as well, as he did numerous times throughout the 2024-25 season. Alonso has used him centrally at the Club World Cup, either as the main or supporting striker.
Possessing good physicality, Garcia has a decent work rate and will be hoping to make further strides into the Madrid first team in the future.
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