• Zidane has made no secret of his desire to overhaul the squad this summer and he continues to push for deals for both Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen.
• Bale, Rodriguez and Kovacic are the players that would raise the biggest fees but all three have long contracts and none are believed to be willing to take a pay-cut elsewhere.
Real Madrid face a busy summer getting players out of the club as the Spanish side ‘must raise more than £250million in sales’ in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
Los Blancos have already announced deals for both Luka Jovic, arriving for £62m from Frankfurt, and Eden Hazard who is joining from Chelsea in a £130m move. But according to AS, given the club want to add more high-profile additions this summer, boss Zinedine Zidane needs to shift a number of big earners out to balance the books.
Zidane has made no secret of his desire to overhaul the squad this summer and he continues to push for deals for both Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen.
The Premier League pair would not come cheap - it would likely cost another £200m to get both stars in - and therefore raising capital from sales is imperative. Up to 13 players could be moved on, according to reports in Spain, with Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic - who has been on loan at Chelsea this season - and James Rodriguez the big names on the list of players set for an exit.
Martin Odegaard and Isco also face uncertain futures at the Bernabeu, particularly given Hazard, who plays in their preferred position, has arrived as a ‘Galactico’ this summer.
Bale, Rodriguez and Kovacic are the players that would raise the biggest fees but all three have long contracts and none are believed to be willing to take a pay-cut elsewhere.
Kovacic and Rodriguez both have deals that run until 2021 while Bale, who appears to have seen relations with Zidane sour since he took over from Santiago Solari this season, possessing a deal until 2022. The Spanish giants value Bale at around £75m and that is a big red flag to potential suitors given the Welshman turns 30 next month. Reports over the weekend have suggested Manchester United, who have just announced a deal for Bale’s Wales team-mate Daniel James, could look into acquiring the former Tottenham man on loan.
There are few clubs able to meet his £480,000-a-week wages at Real but United is one destination that could continue to offer him a lucrative deal. The arrival of Hazard is likely to see his role further reduced next season and Bale faces a decision if he wants to continue to play regular first-team football.
United missed out on Champions League football and it remains unclear if that alone will prove a stumbling block to any deal.
The clubs are likely to be in regular discussion this summer with Zidane particularly keen to bring in Pogba as his new midfield general. United will want between £142m and £160m for Pogba, which would cause issues for Real’s goal of meeting FFP requirements should they struggle to find suitors for their biggest outcasts.