‘Last Dance’—Real Madrid Midfielder Drops Major Transfer Hint

Dani Ceballos came off the bench in Real Madrid’s emphatic victory vs. Real Oviedo in what could be his final appearance for the club.

In the aftermath of the game, Ceballos posted a picture in social media of himself during his brief cameo and captioned it with the phrase “last dance”. The message appears to be abundantly clear: Ceballos’s future could be away from the Santiago Bernabéu

According to Fabrizio Romano, Ligue 1’s Marseille are keen on making a move for Ceballos. Talks with Real Madrid have already taken place and at the moment, a loan deal with a buy options seemingly the target. However, Romano states that the deal won’t be easy to complete.

Recently, Ceballos fueled speculation about a possible return to Real Betis, his boyhood club. The midfielder liked a post on Instagram from a Betis fan page, where he appeared wearing the green and white shirt.

Through two games this season, Ceballos has made brief cameos off the bench in the dying minutes of Los Blancos’ first two La Liga contests. During the 2025 Club World Cup, he didn’t register a single start and was an unused substitute on two occasions.

It might be a small sample size, but it’s evident that new manager Xabi Alonso doesn’t consider Ceballos to be a significant part of his plans. Since the manager’s arrival, Arda Güler—who mostly featured as a winger under Carlo Ancelotti— has been deployed in the base of midfield and is poised to continue doing so, blocking Ceballos’s path to consistent minutes.

Ceballos joined Real Madrid from Betis in 2017. He’s gone on to feature 194 times for Los Blancos, scoring seven goals and assisting another 16. His 42 appearances a season ago were his most in a single season for the club.

It wouldn’t be the first time the 29-year-old midfielder is loaned away from Real Madrid. Ceballos was loaned out to Arsenal during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. Once Ancelotti was appointed as manager ahead of the 2021–22 season, Ceballos returned and became a regular under the Italian.

With Ancelotti gone, it seems Ceballos could be on the way out as well. Though there’s nothing concrete as of yet, there’s a good chance Ceballos leaves Real Madrid before deadline day on Sept. 1.