Real Madrid advance squad overhaul with registrations of Cucurella and Konate
The Spanish capital giants join Espanyol as the only clubs to have commenced the official player registration process for the upcoming season.
Real Madrid have officially registered defenders Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate with La Liga for the upcoming season, marking the second and third player registrations for the club. Cucurella joined from Chelsea for a base fee of €55 million plus €5 million in add-ons, while Konate arrived on a free transfer from Liverpool. These registrations follow the earlier addition of Denzel Dumfries, who was added to the squad on 18 July.
Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva remains the only new signing yet to be registered. Silva was signed as a free agent after his contract at Manchester City expired. The club is undergoing a significant squad overhaul under manager Jose Mourinho, who has also reached an agreement to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig, although Diomande has not yet been registered.
Real Madrid and Espanyol are currently the only La Liga clubs to have commenced the registration process. Five players have been officially registered in the league so far: Dumfries, Cucurella, and Konate for Real Madrid; and Cala and Quilindschy for Espanyol. The registrations come with little under a month left before the season kicks off.
Cucurella, the 28-year-old left-back, recently won the FIFA World Cup with Spain. Konate, a centre-back, was part of the France team that finished fourth in the World Cup. None of the new signings have yet joined pre-season training under Mourinho, although Bernardo Silva is expected to report this week.
The acquisition of Diomande reportedly disrupted a transfer process that Paris Saint-Germain had appeared to finalise weeks prior. The deal for the 19-year-old winger is valued at more than £100 million, following the withdrawal of interest from Paris St-Germain, who had previously submitted a final bid of £102.5 million that was rejected by Leipzig.
