Real Madrid ‘Finalizing’ Deal for Sought-After Defender in Time for Club World Cup | OneFootball

Real Madrid are reportedly in the final stages of negations with Benfica to bring Álvaro Carreras to the Spanish capital.

After signing zero players in the winter transfer window, Real Madrid are focused on building their defense this summer. The club already signed Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and now are closing in on a major left back reinforcement.

MARCA report the Spanish giants are “finalizing the details” of Carreras’s transfer from Benfica. Despite “arduous” negotiations, Real Madrid are reportedly confident they will have the fullback in a white shirt in time for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

The Spanish outlet revealed Real Madrid agreed to pay Carreras’s €50 million ($57 million) release clause in full just to get the deal over the line. The 22-year-old, meanwhile, has “expressed his desire” to join Xabi Alonso’s team and is “awaiting the transfer agreement” in Lisbon.

Carreras is coming off an impressive 2024–25 season for Benfica. The Spaniard made 50 appearances across all competitions for the Portuguese side and played a pivotal role in Benfica’s second-place league finish, as well as their deep run in the Taça de Portugal.

Real Madrid are in desperate need of a young, talented defender like Carreras with this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup just one week away. Ferland Mendy is expected to miss the entire tournament due to injury, leaving Fran García as the only natural left back in Alonso’s squad.

Should Carreras indeed complete his move to Real Madrid, he will have almost an immediate opportunity to prove himself to the club’s new manager against some of the best competition in world. He, along with Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold, would form an almost completely-revamped backline for Los Blancos after a season marred by defense struggles and injuries.