Real Madrid’s “great admiration” for Vitinha and Enzo Fernández is unlikely to help Los Blancos secure either a transfer for either player, after a report revealed that the midfield pair are considered “almost impossible” targets.
Los Blancos didn’t buy a midfielder when Toni Kroos retired in 2024, or when Luka Modrić moved on from the Santiago Bernabéu in 2025, much to the frustration of successive managers Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso—both ended up sacked because of what was lacking in the center of the pitch.
Despite new boss Álvaro Arbeloa’s insistence that everything is fine, a midfielder is an urgent priority come the summer. The ideals would be one of Vitinha, instrumental in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph last season, or Fernández, a leading light in the Premier League. But The Athletic writes that both are pretty much no-go from a “financial” perspective.
Los Blancos simply don’t have the resources to break either player out of contracts that would see their current teams demand enormous nine-figure transfer fees. Vitinha signed fresh terms with PSG last year that run to 2029, while Fernández is locked down until 2032.
Even with any desire on the part of the players, the selling clubs—PSG, Chelsea—hold all the cards.
Who Could Real Madrid Sign in Midfield?
If Vitinha and Fernández aren’t realistic, who are?
The midfielder most easily within reach for Real Madrid is Nico Paz. The Argentina international, considered a hybrid talent combining elements of an advanced playmaking No. 10 with a box-to-box No. 8, is the subject of a buyback clause included in the sale agreement with Como in 2024.
Tenerife-born Paz moved to the Spanish mainland to join Los Blancos as a child and can be re-signed for a fixed €9 million ($10.6 million) fee, far below his true market value.
There is an opportunity to trigger the clause and profit by immediately selling Paz on to the highest bigger, but Madrid might be best served keeping him for themselves.
The alternative is Liverpool’s 2022 World Cup-winning star Alexis Mac Allister, another Argentine. He is reported by The Athletic to have been a target for Ancelotti and there was “positive feedback” from his entourage. But it stopped there and was never “fully explored.”
The difference now is Mac Allister will have only two years left on his Liverpool contract at the end of this season. That is usually the time when the Reds begin the process of renewing key players, but at 27 years of age Mac Allister will be aware this is a significant career crossroad.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Admire Two ‘Impossible’ Midfield Targets—More Realistic Options Available.
