Overview

• Real Madrid has agreed to pay €50 million to Benfica for left-back Álvaro Carreras, representing a significant increase on the €6 million fee Benfica paid in 2020.
• The transfer will be official within 24 hours and Carreras will be presented to the media next week.
• Carreras returns to his boyhood club after three years in Madrid’s youth academy and spells at Manchester United, Preston North End, Granada and Benfica.
• Xabi Alonso sees Carreras as a key addition to Real Madrid’s defensive rebuild before the 2025-26 LaLiga season.
• He will challenge Fran García and Ferland Mendy for the first-team left-back spot, boosting competition in the squad.