No time to rest on their laurels, though! They need to strengthen their squad in preparation for next season, which will be even tougher because all their rivals will be gunning for them.
Here is my wishlist of players for Real Madrid to buy.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Maximum bid: 60 million Euros
Real Madrid struggled with a leaky defence this season. I even coined the phrase "colander protocol" which I shout whenever they concede a goal, an all-too-common occurrence unfortunately. Bringing in a top-quality defender like Azpilicueta, who has consistently been one of the best players at Chelsea, should be top priority for Zidane and Perez this summer, even if it means breaking the bank. In return for a possibly inflated transfer fee, Real Madrid will bolster their defence and get a versatile player who can fill any role across the back four.
Mats Hummels
Maximum bid: 60 million Euros
Real Madrid are almost certain to lose Pepe during this transfer window. Hummels would be a good direct replacement for him. He is defensively solid and, unlike the notoriously volatile Pepe, has a relatively clean disciplinary record too.
Harry Kane OR Romelu Lukaku
Maximum bid: 80 million Euros
Benzema is aging and his performances are no longer up to the standard befitting of a Real Madrid player. It might be time to offload him to a China club for a grossly inflated sum and reinvest the proceeds into getting one of these two young strikers. Both were in red-hot form for their respective clubs and neck-and-neck in the race to be top scorer. Kane is under contract to Tottenham until 2022 but Lukaku's expires in 2019, so it might be easier to get Everton to come to terms.
Heung-Min Son
Maximum bid: 50 million Euros
It looks increasingly likely that Morata will be sold, so Real Madrid will need a backup striker. Son had good statistics for Tottenham this season and is hardworking to boot. Another advantage of buying him is that he is Asian. Real Madrid have no Asian player currently so signing him will allow them to reach out to the Asian market and hopefully gain more fans from that part of the world. If Tottenham can be convinced to agree to a package deal involving both Kane and Son, it would be a bonus as they have played together before and share an understanding of each other that Real Madrid can benefit immediately from.
Poor Tottenham. Their role in life is to be a feeder club for Real Madrid.
DO NOT BUY
Real Madrid have been heavily linked with David de Gea but I really have no idea why Perez is so obsessed with him. Real Madrid already has one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Keylor Navas and a capable understudy in Kiko Casilla. Money can be saved by not buying de Gea, and better spent reinforcing the weak areas in the team.
They should also stay clear of Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe for now. Hazard is broken goods after his ankle fracture and buying him now runs the risk of him never returning to form and wasting the investment. Mbappe is unproven in my opinion. He might just be a flash in the pan. If he is still a consistent top dog in a few seasons, then Real Madrid can consider buying him. For now though, we only need to look as far as Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Barcelona's Neymar for cautionary tales against paying through the nose for one-hit wonders.
Next season will be incredibly competitive and exciting as everyone and their mother will be trying to claim Real Madrid's scalp. August cannot come soon enough for me!
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