Real Madrid were able to keep a clean sheet in their latest La Liga game after surrendering a combined seven goals to Barcelona and AC Milan, but there was no time to celebrate a strong defensive performance.
First of all, Osasuna is Osasuna. Sorry. But second of all and most importantly, Real Madrid lost, by far, their best defensive player of the season to an ACL tear, with Eder Militao suffering the major injury for a second straight season.
Antonio Pintus’ future should be non-existent after yet another torn ACL a Real Madrid player, but, that point aside, Los Blancos are in serious trouble defensively with Antonio Rudiger as the only healthy, senior first-team center back.
Real Madrid didn’t sign a center back this past summer. Or the summer before that. Or even in the winter in between when they lost both Militao and David Alaba to torn ACLs.
However, top Relevo insider Matteo Moretto reports that this all about to change, with Real Madrid already deciding on signing one or even two center backs in the January 2025 transfer market.
For Real Madrid, this represents drastic action from Florentino Perez – and it is necessary. They have stood idly by for too long as their defense was ravaged by injuries, and they should be ashamed for coming into the season with only two healthy senior center backs after losing Nacho Fernandez to Saudi Arabia.
Real Madrid are going to have to make two signings in the winter of established center backs, bucking their past trend of not signing any experienced players in the winter.
As Militao sits on the sidelines, Real Madrid know if they don’t reenforce their defense, they could get embarrassed by Barcelona for the remainder of the season, having already suffered the ignominy of a 4-0 defeat at the hands of their greatest rivals.
