An old habit… Bouadi approaches Real Madrid in the scenario of Ozil and James

In a move reminiscent of its old and historic habit of using the World Cup as a platform to bolster its ranks, Real Madrid have stepped up their monitoring of key players for the 2026 World Cup.

Real Madrid bared their teeth at the start of the Mercato this summer with a slew of signings that began with the return of Jose Mourinho as technical director, before officially signing Bernardo Silva, Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate, while several sources strongly suggested that they had completed their contract with Denzel Dumfries.

What is notable about these contracts is that all the players are participating with their country’s national teams at the 2026 World Cup, somewhat lessening the blow of Spain coach Luis de la Fuente not including any local players from the squad.