How Real Madrid's greed cost them £15m 20 Jul 2017 22:08

A look at how Real Madrid’s haggling with Manchester United over the price of Álvaro Morata ending up losing them money.

By Philip Meese, Chief Editor

A dramatic shift in the market has occurred in this summer’s transfer window. Real Madrid striker Álvaro Morata, linked with a move to Old Trafford all summer, now seems set to move to Stamford Bridge. Providing he passes his medical at their Cobham training ground, Morata will line up for Chelsea next season, while Romelu Lukaku, who the Blues were expected to sign, will wear the number 9 shirt at Manchester United.

Anyone who chanced a bet on this being the situation a few weeks ago will be eagerly awaiting confirmation of the Morata deal. That’s how nailed on the two strikers’ deals seemed to be. Rumour has it that, in addition to cutting short his honeymoon to fly back to Madrid to seemingly seal a transfer to United, he also dyed his hair red in anticipation of his unveiling as a Red Devil.

Real Madrid wanted £80 million from United for Morata, but have settled for just under £60 million from Chelsea, although certain add-ons mean that deal could rise by at least a further ten million. Had they not been so greedy, Madrid could have pocketed more from this deal. In fact, they have kind of mugged themselves off.

Recap

Álvaro Morata came through Real Madrid’s youth system, and was given his debut as an 18 year old by then-manager José Mourinho in 2010. He was sold to Juventus in 2014, with Real inserting a €30 million buy back clause into the deal, which they activated last summer.

As was the case during his first spell at the Bernabéu, Morata played second fiddle to players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Realising that he would probably never be their first choice striker, the Spanish international decided he wanted to move.

The whole world knew that Manchester United would be prioritising a striker this summer, even if Zlatan Ibrahimovi? stayed. United moving for Morata seemed quite a logical decision, as he would be playing for the manager who gave him his debut, and at a club where he would finally be the main man.

What Went Wrong?

Even when Real Madrid activiated his release clause last summer, many speculated that they were only doing it to sell him on again, making themselves a tidy profit in the process. Although he hardly set any goalscoring records during his time in Turin, he developed so much as a player in Serie A that he was already worth double the amount that Madrid paid to bring him “home”. They also would have known that, with the World Cup coming up, Morata would not want to spend the season leading up it to being a bench warmer. In this respect, the plan worked better than they could have hoped. Despite only starting 19 games in all competitions, Morata scored 20 goals, his best ever tally in a single season. This feat alone probably added £10 million onto his transfer value.

Where Madrid made a mistake was that they got greedy. United were willing to pay more than what Chelsea will have to stump up. They started their bidding at £60 million, and given what they paid for Lukaku, Madrid probably could have got them up to more than £70 million. Real Madrid could have almost tripled the money they paid Juventus for Morata last summer, for someone who they saw as no more than a quality squad player. It would have been an even better piece of business than what they have done with Chelsea. Whether it was an act of revenge for United having a dodgy fax machine two years ago, nobody knows, but Madrid held firm and insisted on £80 million for a player they didn’t even want.

The Outcome

Tired of the constant haggling, United turned their attentions to another of Mourinho’s former strikers, Romelu Lukaku. They paid £75 million up front, more than they ever offered Real for Morata, and Everton, already resigned to losing the Belgian, accepted without too much fuss.

The official line from Old Trafford was that Lukaku was always their first choice frontman, but there aren’t many who are convinced about that. One thing it did show, however, that they won’t be backed into a corner.

Real Madrid were probably as shocked as Chelsea when United signed Lukaku. They probably thought that the Red Devils would crack in their desperation to land the striker, and cough up the asking price. Once the Belgian had moved to Old Trafford, their bargaining position was compromised. They now knew that, although they could still command a fee that would double their investment, they could kiss goodbye to the kind of money they were asking for him. Especially when the entire world knew that he wasn’t exactly a crucial part of Madrid’s squad. They didn’t have much choice but to accept Chelsea’s bid.

Maybe United were mindful of the fact that several players have used a clubs interest over the years to secure a better contract with their present employers (mentioning no names, Mr Ramos). Now that Paris Saint-Germain have activated Neymar’s release clause, it will be interesting to see how that one pans out. One possible outcome would be the Brazilian inking a better contract at the Nou Camp, and PSG buying Alexis Sánchez from Arsenal as a consolation prize.

There was plenty of interest in Morata, as you would expect for a top class international when he goes on the market. AC Milan, with their cash-rich new owners, were known to be one club who were considering making an offer.

Final Thoughts

In summary, given what United coughed up to Everton for Lukaku, they probably would have been happy to compromise on the price for Morata. Some reports suggested that Ed Woodward offered more than Chelsea have agreed to pay, which shows how Madrid’s hand was weakened. Chelsea have paid an initial £58 million up front. If he really was United’s first choice, Madrid could have probably got them to pay £70 million, maybe even £73 million. Although it is a small amount given some of the ridiculous amounts of money that have changed hands this summer, Madrid’s bare-faced greed has cost them a potential £15 million. There are many clubs around the world whose entire future could be changed by that sort of money.

This type of behaviour is quite typical of everything Real Madrid has become, and in fact, everything that is wrong with the game. They are so far removed from the club who were such a big support to United following the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, and arranged a series of high profile friendlies between the two clubs to help the Red Devils out financially. That club were a credit to themselves, and the game of football in general.

You get the feeling that their legendary president, Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, who oversaw the running of the club from 1943 to 1978 and was a great friend of Sir Matt Busby, would turn in his grave at the circus they have become.