Real Madrid stand to record their largest sale of the summer in a deal for a player who hasn’t turned out for the club in almost four years.
Miguel Gutiérrez joined Madrid’s academy in September 2011 as a 10-year-old. The progressive left back earned his senior debut under Zinédine Zidane while he was still a teenager, but failed to displace any of the first-team regulars.
After a season as a perennial substitute during the first year of Carlo Ancelotti’s second spell in the capital, Gutiérrez permanently signed for Girona in 2022. Madrid covered themselves in the event that their academy graduate would fulfil his potential, baking a 50% sell-on clause into the €4 million ($4.6 million) transfer. The fruits of that forethought are set to be reaped this summer.
Napoli are on the cusp of completing the acquisition of Gutiérrez, Fabrizio Romano reports. The Serie A champions are set to commit to a fee in excess of €18 million ($20.8 million), which thereby entitles Madrid to more than €9 million ($10.4 million).
That lump sum would represent the club’s biggest sale of the summer. In fact, only one player over the past three years has earned Madrid a larger fee than Gutiérrez.
For a time, it seemed likely that the Olympic gold medallist would return to Real. Given licence to roam into midfield, Gutiérrez blossomed into one of La Liga’s most exciting left backs at Girona. The 24-year-old racked up seven assists during the club’s romp to a record-breaking third-place league finish in 2023–24. Despite a steep collective decline which saw Girona drop down to 16th last term, Gutiérrez still created five league goals for his teammates.
Madrid opted to bring another academy graduate back in the form of Álvaro Carreras to compete for the left side of defense. Now Xabi Alonso has too many fullbacks at his disposal. Carreras’s arrival is expected to force Madrid to sell one of Fran García or Ferland Mendy this summer. Whether either will be more profitable than Gutiérrez remains to be seen.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid ‘Close’ to Surprise Windfall for Former Player.