Real Madrid s big test of signings: Strengthen the lineup, sell people first to change the position

In the summer of 2025, Real Madrid is in a critical period of lineup reconstruction, and a series of major operations are about to begin. The roster of

has begun to take shape, but is far from perfect. With the outbreak of Gonzalo Garcia and Carreras is about to officially join, the Bernabeu's registration list is approaching the 25-man cap allowed in the La Liga. This seemingly simple number forced Real Madrid's sports department to make careful calculations. If you want to continue signings - and it's almost a foregone conclusion - someone has to leave.

At present, Real Madrid's lineup has been "full", but this does not mean that the structure is reasonable enough. During his trip to the United States to compete in the 2025 FIFA World Cup, coach Xavi Alonso brought up as many as 34 players, including 10 young players from the youth training camp. Since the Club World Cup allows 35 players to be registered per team, the number of players is not a problem. But once the team returns to the La Liga, the team can only register up to 25 people, and the staffing shortage will appear.

As of now, Real Madrid has signed three new players: Arnold, Heisen and Mastantuono. Meanwhile, Vallejo, Modric and Lucas Vosquez have also confirmed their departure. This means that the total number of teams has not changed. Carreras will become the 23rd player, and with Gonzalo and Asensio promoted from youth training, Real Madrid will just make up the complete list of 25 players. On the surface, the lineup is full, but in fact there are still many hidden dangers. The Club World Cup has exposed its shortcomings, and the demand for reinforcement is still urgent. The just-concluded Club World Cup game exposed the lack of creativity in Real Madrid's midfielder, and the defense line, especially the central defender position, still has questions. Although there are currently five central defenders, if you adopt the three central defenders system you have tried in the United States, such a configuration will obviously be difficult to support the high-intensity schedule throughout the season.

Among them, Rudiger's performance was particularly disappointing. Except for the outstanding performance of new players Heysenwen, neither Rudiger nor Asensio failed to meet expectations. Alaba is still recovering, and he has been trapped in serious injuries over the past year; although Militon returns to perform well, his two serious injuries have also made the coaching staff worried.

Real Madrid intends to introduce Liverpool's Connaet as a supplementary candidate, but if you want to buy new players, you must first clear up the redundant staff. If you want to enter, you have to make room first.

Youth Training promotion brought about changes in quotas

Last season, Ancelotti had only 22 first-team players, the least in the past decade. At that time, due to the wave of defense injuries, Asensio had to be temporarily promoted from Castilla, but he was still a "B team player" at that time. This year, Asensio and Gonzalo were both officially promoted to the first team, bringing the number of registered people to exactly 25 - no more or less, just right.

However, the problem is not quantity, but quality and tactical adaptability. If Alonso wants to build a team that can fight on multiple fronts and strive for the Champions League championship, then he must make a choice and consider the departure of some players.

Like La Liga, UEFA also stipulates that each team can only register up to 25 players. But the requirements for the Champions League are stricter: only 17 of them can be players not trained by the team in their youth or non-local training. That is to say, at least 8 players must be players who have grown up in Spain, and at least 4 of them must be between the ages of 15 and 21 and have received at least three years of systematic training at Real Madrid.

Currently, Real Madrid has seven "children": Carvajal, Fran Garcia, Raul Asensio, Camavinga, Vinicius, Rodrigo and Gonzalo. Carreras will be eighth. In addition, Valverde and Seballos were also recognized by UEFA as local trained players.

This opens a window for possible personnel adjustments in the future. But even so, the club still needs to weigh carefully: Who can stay? Who will leave? Who can meet the Champions League qualification requirements? None of these problems can be easily solved.

From the paper numbers, Real Madrid seems to have completed the team building in the summer window. But in fact, this is just a "sufficient" in the sense of the rules and is far from "suitable" at the strategic level. If Alonso hopes to build a team with sufficient depth and ability to compete for the championship in multiple lines, personnel decisions will continue.