Benfica manager Bruno Lage has warned Real Madrid they will have to offer more money to sign left back Álvaro Carreras.
Having already recruited Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold in time for the Club World Cup, Madrid prioritized a move for Carreras and reports suggested a deal would be done before this summer’s tournament began. However, talks ultimately ended without an agreement.
Having now been registered in the Benfica squad for the Club World Cup, Carreras can no longer represent Real Madrid this summer, but Los Blancos are still expected to pursue his signature when the tournament comes to a close.
Lage was asked about the prospect of losing Carreras, who is contracted to the club until 2029, after the Club World Cup and made it abundantly clear that Benfica have the power when it comes to negotiations.
“First, there has to be a proposal that Benfica can agree on,” Lage began. “Regardless of the player, an agreement is needed.
“Then, I can see any Benfica player, as long as they have the performance of Álvaro, playing for any team in the world. Álvaro won’t be the first player to leave Benfica and make a name for himself at any European club. I can generalize and, in the last 10, 15 years, any player who has left Benfica, whether Portuguese or foreign, has had the ability to make a name for himself at different clubs.”
Those comments echo the stance taken by Benfica president Rui Costa, who said: “Carreras is going to play in the Club World Cup with us and he’s a Benfica player. We haven’t reached any agreement with Real Madrid for him.
“There were proposals we didn’t like, in the case of Álvaro and other players.”
Carreras’s contract comes with a release clause of €50 million ($57.7 million) which must be paid in full. Madrid are believed to have been trying to negotiate a discount but have, so far, been unsuccessful.
Los Blancos have already spent big this summer. Huijsen arrived for £50 million (€58.7 million, $67.8 million) and a fee of €10 million ($11.5 million) was paid to bring Alexander-Arnold’s move from Liverpool forward, before a whopping €62.9 million ($72.6 million) was spent to sign Franco Mastantuono from River Plate.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘There Has to Be’—Real Madrid Fired Warning Over Pursuit of Fourth Summer Signing.