Real Madrid’s financial position means they need to sell in order to buy in this summer’s transfer window, potentially limiting the club’s ability to rebuild after a dreadful season.
Los Blancos officially conceded the title race on Sunday night, with a limp 2–0 defeat against Barcelona, who now hold an unassailable 14-point lead at the top of La Liga with just three games left to play in 2025–26.
For Madridistas the end of the season can’t come soon enough. Los Blancos’ campaign has veered from bad to worse in recent weeks, as confirmation of another year without a major trophy has been compounded by sensational reports of locker room fighting.
This summer promises to be one of transition for Real Madrid, who will—in all likelihood—appoint a new manager to take control for the 2026–27 season. Florentino Pérez and the club hierarchy will also be keen to address key areas of concern in the roster, including in defense and midfield.
The latest injuries to Ferland Mendy and Éder Militão have further highlighted the need for more additions to the backline, which is also set to lose Dani Carvajal, David Alaba and Antonio Rüdiger upon expiry of their contracts at the end of the current campaign. Only the latter has any real chance of being offered an extension to his terms.
Meanwhile, the club has yet to address the Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić-shaped holes in the engine room, with at least one controlling midfield playmaker still on the to-do list.
Financial Issues Muddy the Waters for Madrid
Worryingly, however, for Real Madrid’s rebuild, The Athletic reports that getting new faces in may not be that simple
“Sources with knowledge of internal planning point to the need to sell players to enable signings,” the report claims.
This follows recent reports in Spain that have suggested Real Madrid’s finances are in a delicate position, following the costly recent renovations at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
The world’s biggest club reportedly has a negative working capital of €406 million ($478 million), according to El Confidencial, while the debt accrued by the club under Pérez has reached a massive €1.78 billion ($2 billion).
It is said that as of December 31 2025, Madrid had just €3.4 million ($4.1 million) euros in liquid funds—by comparison, they had €175.8 million ($207.1 million) only six months prior.
Another summer like last year’s, with a net spend of close to €200 million ($235 million) on new players, looks unlikely.
Who Could Real Madrid Sell This Summer?
There are several clear candidates to be put up for sale in order to generate funds.
Eduardo Camavinga appeared to hammer the final nail into his own coffin with his red card in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg defeat to Bayern Munich. The Frenchman, who has failed to build on early promise in five years at Madrid, is tipped for the Premier League.
Raúl Asencio and Dani Ceballos have both made headlines this season for confrontations with Álvaro Arbeloa over a lack of game time. It’s hard to see either player lasting beyond the summer, if suitors can be found.
Ferland Mendy’s possible exit has been complicated by his latest injury setback. The 30-year-old French left back has one year to go on his current contract.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo García impressed at last summer’s Club World Cup, but has made next to no impact over the season and will find his opportunities even further limited if Endrick returns from his loan at Lyon.
Clock Ticking on Vinícius Jr Situation
None of the above mentioned players would be major money spinners for Madrid, however.
The one elephant in the room that would provide a much bigger boost to Madrid’s bank balance is Vinicius Jr.
The 25-year-old will have just one year left on his contract this summer, and there is still no sign of a renewal, despite the player’s recent public insistence that he wants to stay at the Bernabéu.
The Athletic reported last month that a contract extension for the Brazil international remains one of Madrid’s top priorities, but negotiations have become complicated and drawn out over the structure of new terms. Madrid have shown no willingness to meet Vinicius Jr’s demands and the clock is ticking.
With a Kylian Mbappé sale highly unlikely—despite the fan petition—Vinicius Jr might be the star player Madrid ultimately have to at least consider selling in order to finance a badly needed rebuild.
A possible option for raising funds could be cutting ties with one (or both) of Federico Valverde or Aurelién Tchouaméni. There have been reports that there are some in the locker room who want the Uruguayan sold for his part in the training ground fight between the pair. Meanwhile, Tchouaméni has been linked with Manchester United.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Worrying Transfer News for Real Madrid That Will Impact Summer Rebuild & Vinicius Jr Future.
