Carreras is a record transfer: Misjudgment costs Real Madrid 50 million euros

Carreras is a record transfer. Miscalculation costs Real Madrid 50 million euros. 15.07.2025, 08:38

They could have done it for less: Real Madrid acquired Alvaro Carreras for 50 million euros. The left-back had already been with Los Blancos – and then had to leave. Now he's returning as a record-breaking player.

Spanish record champions Real Madrid are gearing up for their first title challenge under coach Xabi Alonso: The Royal Club has brought their once-discarded youth player Alvaro Carreras back to Spain from Benfica Lisbon for a fee of €50 million. The 22-year-old signed a contract with the record Champions League winners until 2031. Carreras made two appearances for Benfica Lisbon at the Club World Cup, which concluded last weekend.

With his transfer fee confirmed by Benfica, the youth international is now the most expensive left-back in Spanish league history. Furthermore, no Spanish-born player has ever been more expensive than the former England international.

Carreras, who joined Real Madrid's youth team at the age of 14, moved to Manchester United's youth setup in 2020 due to a lack of prospects – but failed to make the leap into the first team. It wasn't until his move to Preston North End that the left-footed player's career took off: Carreras made 42 league appearances for the second-division club, then moved to Benfica via Granada CF – where he finally made his breakthrough and his market value exploded. Now, Real Madrid has corrected this misjudgment for a large sum of money.

"If you have it..."

"I'm one of those people who think that if a young player deserves a chance, you have to give it to them. If they don't give you the chance, you have to go out and prove yourself," the new record-breaking player told the Spanish sports newspaper "Marca" last November. "That was the case with me: I had to prove myself in the second division, and things didn't work out so well in Granada, but you have to prove yourself. If you have it, they'll see at some point."

Carreras's new Real Madrid teammate, Dean Huijsen, is one of only three more expensive defenders in Spain's top-flight history. Madrid paid €62.5 million to English club AFC Bournemouth for the central defender. Including the investments in its two other signings, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Franco Mastantuono, Real has already spent around €170 million on new players in the current transfer window.