Spanish international Marc Cucurella has verbally agreed to join Spanish giants Real Madrid. The Chelsea man will leave Stamford Bridge after the World Cup and make the move to the Bernabeu, as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano earlier this afternoon.
According to the transfer guru, there has been a verbal agreement between all parties and the deal is all but signed. David Ornstein confirmed in The Athletic that the deal is worth £51.7 million.
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Marc Cucurella Leaves Chelsea after Four Seasons
The Madrid Deal
Multiple clubs were interested in Marc Cucurella when it became public that he was available for transfer. The Athletic reported that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona had both made contact with Cucurella’s team, and the left back’s former coach, Enzo Maresca, was interested in bringing him to Manchester City. It was also rumoured that Manchester United were interested, as they are in the market for a left back.
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It would be the returning Jose Mourinho who would ultimately entice Cucurella to Madrid. Los Blancos had a poor season last season, finishing second in the league by eight points, crashing out of the Copa del Rey in the round of 16 and underperforming in the Champions League, losing to Bayern Munich.
At Madrid, Cucurella will be mainly competing with Alvaro Carreras for the left-back position. The former Manchester United man played a total of 40 times last season.
Career So Far
Marc Cucurella will return to play in Spain for the first time since the 2020-2021 season, when he played for Getafe. The left-back signed for Brighton and Hove Albion on a five-year deal, following a single season as a permanent Getafe player. He wouldn’t spend long on the south coast, however.
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After an impressive first season in the Premier League, Cucurella would sign for Chelsea for a reported £60 million. He slotted straight into the team, playing under several different managers during his first season. His second season saw him play second fiddle to Ben Chilwell at the beginning of the season before regaining his place in the side. An ankle injury saw him miss 17 games of the season, although his showing on the international stage impressed.
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Cucurella helped Spain to a European Championship victory, defeating Gareth Southgate’s England in the final. The Spaniard would provide the assist for the winning goal in the 86th minute to break English hearts.
Cucurella’s penultimate season for Chelsea saw him make a total of 54 appearances. He’d help Chelsea gain Champions League football, notching five goals. He would taste further European success, although this time with Chelsea. Under Enzo Maresca, The Blues would win the UEFA Conference League, defeating Real Betis 4-1 in the final.
As a result of Chelsea’s previous success in Europe, they qualified for the World Club Cup, where again Cucurella would lift silverware.
His final season in London was inconsistent, which was the story of the entire season for Chelsea.
With Xabi Alonso taking over at Stamford Bridge, the assumption is that Marc Cucurella would have had to adapt to playing as a left wing-back, rather than his preferred, traditional left-back position; however, we won’t get to see this potential adaptation to his game as he will play his club football for Real Madrid next season.
Featured Image Credit
IMAGO / Jan Huebner
