Midfield has been a problem area for Real Madrid for some time. Two years, in fact.
Essentially, ever since Toni Kroos rode off into the sunset after winning the 2024 Champions League final, Madrid have had a hole in their midfield that they have been unable to fill.
That problem with controlling games from the center of the park was only further exacerbated by the exit of Luka Modrić a year later, and it’s no coincidence that Madrid have not won a trophy since the two legends left.
This is a summer of change at the Bernabéu, with new-old manager José Mourinho tasked with getting the club back on track and among the medals again. In order to aid his cause, the 63-year-old has been boosted with a new-look defense that includes Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries, while another center back has been tipped to arrive.
In midfield, however, the only arrival as of yet is Bernardo Silva. While the 31-year-old is a quality operator and proven winner, he is not the solution to Madrid’s midfield conundrum—instead he is likely to be more of an experienced depth option, able to raise standards on the training ground and give 7/10 performances in at least three different roles.
So the search for Madrid’s next great midfield controller goes on. Or does it? And are the club even looking?
Madrid Say Thanks But No Thanks to Elite Targets
During Real Madrid’s hastily called presidential elections, Florentino Pérez’s challenger Enrique Riquelme made Rodri his number one transfer pledge. The Manchester City star’s entourage was even forced to deny that he had already signed an agreement to join the club if Riquelme were to be elected.
Ultimately, the green energy entrepreneur was defeated at the polls in June, with the Rodri dream apparently also dying with Riquelme’s candidacy.
Recent reports claim the re-elected Pérez has little interest in exploring a move for the 30-year-old Rodri, despite the fact that the Madrid-born World Cup winner has just one year left on his contract in Manchester and “dreams” of a move to the Spanish capital.
Equally curiously, Madrid took the unusual step of publicly denying any interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, another top-tier midfielder openly flirting with a transfer and was said to be Mourinho’s preferred target.
“In light of the reports and statements that have appeared in recent days regarding an alleged interest from Real Madrid CF in the player Enzo Fernández, the club wishes to state that it has not made any effort, either direct or indirect, to sign the aforementioned player and, likewise, has no intention of undertaking such an operation,” the club said in a statement.
Which Midfielders Could Madrid Realistically Sign?
Rodri and Fernández—who faced off in the 2026 World Cup final—would have been two names at the top of many Real Madrid fans’s summer transfer wish lists. The club’s apparent aversion to the pair is made more perplexing by the lack of serious links to other deep-lying midfield playmakers.
Morocco’s teen sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi has been one player name-checked as someone the club is keeping an eye on, but at just 18 years old, he can hardly be expected to come in and run the midfield for the world’s biggest club. The Athletic has reported that while Madrid have received “positive reports” on the Lille youngster, he is not a priority target.
20-year-old AZ starlet Kees Smit is another name in the frame, but the same concerns must be raised about another high-potential but low-experience option.
Meanwhile, Mateus Fernandes was reportedly on the long list before his big-money transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, while his eye-watering £85 million ($113 million) transfer makes it hard to see value in the market currently.
There is also a sense that perhaps the truly elite-level options are simply not available right now. Pérez is known to be a fan of Paris Saint-Germain’s João Neves, but the 21-year-old is under contract at the back-to-back Champions League winners until 2030. It’s the same story with his teammate Vitinha.
Could Madrid Make Do Without a New Signing?
There is still a chance Real Madrid reverse their position on Rodri—who is due to undergo back surgery post-World Cup weighing up a contract renewal offer from City—or Fernández, but it seems unlikely.
Unless a fresh option emerges, the very real possibility remains that the club end up pushing the midfield playmaker problem down the road to a future transfer window, perhaps when a better opportunity becomes available. For the time being, it might be a case of simply finding a workaround.
Mourinho’s preferred 4–2–3–1 system necessitates the use of a double pivot, behind a more attacking No.10. As it stands, Aurelién Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and academy graduate Thiago Pitarch are candidates for the deeper roles, with Jude Bellingham surely the man in place to start behind Kylian Mbappé. In addition, Federico Valverde, Arda Güler and new signing Silva are likely to be seen as versatile operators capable of playing both the deeper and the advanced roles.
With preseason now underway, Mourinho might ultimately decide he can make do with his current options. Or at least, that he has to.
