Real Madrid center midfielder Dani Ceballos appeared to be on the outs at the Santiago Bernabeu, and even with Toni Kroos retiring, many Madridistas wondered why the club didn’t sell the ex-Real Betis man in the summer 2024 transfer window when they had no intention of giving him meaningful minutes.
But with more injuries this season, including one against Liverpool to star No. 8 Eduardo Camavinga, Ceballos’ name has been called upon more frequently than imagined.
Even with Arda Guler chomping at the bit, Ceballos has been preferred as more of a pure center midfielder, and the former Spanish international has more than stepped up to the plate.
After an excellent all-around performance against Atalanta in the Champions League with four fouls drawn, four combined tackles and interceptions, and a pass completion percentage of more than 96 percent on over 50 attempts, Ceballos has turned the narrative around.
In fact, Relevo’s Manuel Amor reports that Real Madrid are no longer interested in selling Ceballos in the January 2025 transfer window when they were previously open to selling the 28-year-old for just 15 million euros.
Relevo add that if Ceballos continues to play well, he will be preferred to Luka Modric and could earn himself a more prolonged stay beyond the summer 2025 transfer window.
That decision may cause controversy among some Real Madrid fans who believe the club should only hold onto the very best players and let good-but-not-great players like Ceballos go, but Ceballos is so hard-working and so proven in these big Champions League games, it’s hard to argue against him as a quality squad player if he keeps this up.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.