Ever since David Alaba became the second Real Madrid center back to suffer a torn ACL, Madridistas were clamoring for the club to sign another central defender last winter, with Carlo Ancelotti even at the forefront of the effort to sign a new defender.
Since Real Madrid went on to win the Champions League and La Liga in 2023/24 without another center back, president Florentino Perez may have felt vindicated by his latest decision to stand pat in the transfer market when everyone else told him to go for more.
But with Alaba still injured and now top prospect Joan Martinez joining him, Real Madrid remain thin at center back, and as the defense collapses after giving up a combined seven goals against Barcelona and AC Milan, the cries for another defender are becoming loader.
Real Madrid, however, don’t just need another center back after Nacho Fernandez’s summer departure to Saudi Arabia. They have been needing a left back and another right back for years.
Now that Dani Carvajal has suffered a torn ACL, Real Madrid don’t have a single real right back in their squad, other than prospect Jesus Fortea, with Lucas Vazquez floundering against the big boys like Rafael Leao and Raphinha.
According to a report from MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz, while Real Madrid still intend on finally addressing their center back weakness in 2025 amidst a defensive crisis, right back has now pipped central defense as the club’s biggest transfer priority.
And if you were to poll the majority of Madridistas, they would agree with that wholeheartedly. Real Madrid have been too slow to make changes to their back line, and with Real Madrid, if anything, looking worse after the signing of Kylian Mbappe, those joking Galactico 2.0 comments are starting to look like scathing critiques of Perez’s squad-building.
Real Madrid are going to have to sign a new right back as soon as possible. They may be gunning for a free signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold, but not only is that very difficult to pull off, it is downright impossible in the winter.
So in the meantime, as Real Madrid continue to pursue TAA, they need to keep an eye on other right back options who can immediately help a side that is reeling badly without Carvajal, a legitimate 2024 Ballon d’Or candidate.
