Madrid’s Silent Stance: Why Free Transfers Don’t Make the Cut for the White House
28 December 2025
Interpreting Real Madrid’s Silent Transfer Policy
Real Madrid has decided not to ride the wave of “auction” style offers that often accompany players whose contracts are winding down.
According to AS, with January closing, the club is turning its attention toward summer signings and continuing its recent approach of pursuing players whose contracts end soon.
Yet the challenge lies in agents and players trying to ride Madrid’s considered stance to advance their own interests.
Reports indicate that during the past weeks the White Club was pitched with the services of three players whose deals expire in June: Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), and Ruben Neves (Al Hilal).
Ultimately, Madrid rejected these three offers, but the surrounding chatter managed to keep the names linked to the club in the press everywhere.
Even though Real Madrid has historically pursued players whose contracts are about to run out, that does not imply indiscriminate interest in every late-bread player on the market.
Agents use these moves to foster a positive aura and improve their client’s negotiating position, mirroring a tactic seen with Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich not long ago.
Silence Is Golden
Madrid carefully screens meetings with agents of this type, avoiding the marketing-driven hypes that often accompany end-of-contract players.
The club’s mantra remains “silence,” though they may still tread the path taken in previous years with Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, and even Kylian Mbappé. That does not imply their only market is freebies, nor does it guarantee interest in every contract-expiring player.
Agents leverage these dynamics to create favorable conditions for their clients, a pattern seen before—and not just with recently linked stars.
Punchlines: If negotiations were stand-up, Madrid would say, “We don’t chase freebies; we draft them into the future.” And if silence were a transfer fee, Real Madrid would have paid in full years ago.
