Fulham's Real Madrid double swoop headlines a busy summer of Los Blancos clearances

Premier League

Fulham have been the most eye-catching movers in the Premier League window, completing the signings of César Palacios and Gonzalo García from Real Madrid on 2 August. Both arrive as straight transfers, and the double deal signals clear intent from Marco Silva’s side to strengthen their squad depth with proven Madrid-developed talent. It is a pointed piece of business that suggests Fulham are positioning themselves to push further up the Premier League table in 2026-27.

La Liga

Real Madrid have dominated the Spanish transfer landscape this summer, though largely as a selling club. Fran García departed the Bernabéu for Real Betis on 7 July in a confirmed transfer, while Fran González moved to Sevilla at the end of July. The pattern is clear: Madrid are trimming their squad of fringe players while reinvesting selectively. The most significant arrival on their part came on 1 July, when they landed Marc Cucurella from Chelsea for €55 million — the standout confirmed fee in this entire window and the deal that frames all of Madrid’s subsequent outgoings as calculated squad reshaping rather than financial distress.

Serie A

B. Galassi completed a transfer from Real Madrid to Lazio, confirmed around 15-16 July. It is a straightforward piece of recruitment for the Rome club, who appear to be fishing in Madrid’s reserves pool for ready-made reinforcements. Meanwhile, V. Valdepenas moved from Madrid to Fiorentina on 29-30 July, another transfer adding to the impression that several Italian clubs identified opportunities in Madrid’s clearance of peripheral squad members.

Champions League / Other European

Two departures from Real Madrid have taken players further afield. B. Iglesias Lois left the club as a free agent, joining Karpaty, confirmed around 29-30 July. Similarly, Carlos Rodriguez departed on a free agent basis, heading to Greek side Iraklis 1908 — deals confirmed around 14-15 July. Neither move generated a fee, underlining that both players had run down their contractual ties. Separately, D. Dumfries completed his switch from Inter to Real Madrid at the start of July, a transfer that reinforces Inter’s pattern of losing key players to elite European rivals in the final years of this decade.

Inbound for Madrid: the bigger picture

Reading across all five leagues, the story of this window so far is essentially the story of Real Madrid. They have spent €55 million to land Cucurella, added Dumfries from Inter, and brought in Carlos Espí from Levante on 29 July. Against that, they have sold or released seven players. It is methodical, high-volume squad surgery — Madrid are buying strategically at the top while systematically moving on those who no longer fit. Whether the volume of outgoings creates any unexpected gaps remains to be seen as the window progresses toward its August close.

Written by Arlind

Covers daily football news for MatchdayValue — results, standings, and the stories shaping the top five European leagues and the continental competitions.