Real Madrid Confirms Cucurella Signing From Chelsea

Real Madrid has confirmed the signing of Cucurella from Chelsea.

NewsRain Nigeria reports that Real Madrid announced the signing of Spanish defender Marc Cucurella from Chelsea on Monday for a fee reported to be €55 million ($63.8 million).

Madrid has not revealed the cost of the transfer, but sources revealed on Sunday that the deal is worth an initial €55 million ($69.3m) with another €5m ($5.8m) potentially due in add-ons.

Officially, Cucurella becomes Madrid’s first signing of the summer, after previous reports that they also have agreements to bring in Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva.

Cucurella’s arrival comes just days after Madrid confirmed the appointment of José Mourinho as the club’s new coach following the departure of Álvaro Arbeloa.

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Mourinho has played a key role in the club’s move for Cucurella, who is currently in the United States with Spain, preparing for Monday’s World Cup opener against Cabo Verde in Atlanta.

Centre-back Konaté and midfielder Silva are expected to follow when their contracts expire with Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively, at the end of the month, while Madrid also plan to trigger a €20m ($23m) clause in Dumfries’ terms to sign the Inter Milan right-back.

Cucurella, 27, had been keen to return to Spain for a while and had also drawn interest from Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.

Sources said Barça had sounded out a move for their former academy player a few months ago, but they had not taken any further steps given they are currently prioritising signings in other positions.

Atlético’s interest had gone further, but Madrid moved quickly to close the deal in the last few days following Mourinho’s return for a second stint as the club’s coach.

Cucurella’s arrival at the Bernabéu could add more spice to next season’s Clásicos given his history with Barça.

Born in Catalonia, he came through La Masia before making one appearance for the first team in a Copa del Rey tie in the 2017-18 season.

Loan spells at Eibar and Getafe followed before he joined the latter permanently, later moving to Brighton & Hove Albion and then joining Chelsea in 2022 in a €65m ($75.5m) deal.

He has been a regular at left-back for the Blues, making 163 appearances and helping them win the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup, but he has grown agitated at a lack of progress this season.

Speaking earlier this year, he criticised the club’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca.

“If you asked me, I would not have done it,” Cucurella said after the club’s Champions League elimination to Paris Saint-Germain, when he also criticised the club’s general direction.

“You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level,” he added.

“I understand this is part of the club’s policy and they want to take this direction — signing young players and looking to the future.

But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.”

With his future now resolved, Cucurella can focus on the World Cup, where he is once again likely to play a key role as Luis de la Fuente’s first-choice left-back.

He was a crucial member of the squad that won the 2024 Euros, dying his hair red in celebration after the victory against England in the final, and has promised to get a tattoo of coach De la Fuente if Spain win the World Cup this summer.