Fabrizio Romano has revealed that a verbal agreement has been reached between Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Marc Cucurella over a permanent transfer. The 27-year-old Spain left-back will be a Los Blancos player when the current World Cup ends, bringing to a close a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The deal is worth up to £51.8 million, with an initial fee of around £47.5 million and performance-based add-ons. Jose Mourinho, back for a second spell with Los Blancos, had pushed hard for a new left-back, with doubts over current option Alvaro Carreras, and the vastly experienced Cucurella was top of his list.
Cucurella had already been openly frustrated at Chelsea, publicly questioning the club’s recruitment following Enzo Maresca’s controversial mid-season sacking back in January. The defender, speaking to The Athletic while on international duty with Spain, said that decision represented the root of Chelsea’s extended malaise this season.
Chelsea’s disappointing 10th place finish, which meant they missed out on European football next term, only increased his desire to head back to Spain. Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City all watched the situation, but sources say the former Barcelona man always favoured a move to the Spanish capital.
The Spaniard arrived from Brighton in 2022 for a fee that eventually rose over £60 million and won the Club World Cup and Euro 2024 with Spain. Cucurella is not thought of as one of Chelsea’s untouchables, and summer signing Jorrel Hato now appears set to take over the first-choice left-back role under incoming boss Xabi Alonso.
Inside Jose Mourinho’s Aggressive Real Madrid Rebuild
The signing of Cucurella is the fourth major piece of Mourinho’s summer overhaul since the Portuguese returned to the Bernabeu after 13 years away. Real Madrid have already signed free agents Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva, and activated the release clause of Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries.
Defensive reinforcement has been at the heart of the project, and Mourinho is determined to close the gap on back-to-back La Liga champions Barcelona. Konate bolsters a centre-back department repeatedly hit by injuries, while Dumfries and Cucurella give the manager fresh competition on both flanks.
But reports have suggested that Madrid are not done yet, with more midfield signings being considered despite being turned down by Paris Saint-Germain over Vitinha and Joao Neves. Mourinho’s new-look squad should be complete by the World Cup when the Special One starts lifting Los Blancos back to the summit of Europe.