Real Madrid have now signed 23 players from the Premier League – how have they fared?
Thibaut Courtois joined a long list of players that have swapped the Premier League for Real Madrid when he completed a £35 million move from Chelsea to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.
The Premier League may be considered the strongest league in the world but the lure of playing for the most successful club in Europe is just too tough to turn down for many players.
And Courtois is actually the 23rd player to swap England’s top-flight for a chance to play for Los Blancos.
But what happened to the other 22?
Well, we all know how Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham fared. But what about the lower-profile signings?
The Danish midfielder is making certain demands for a new contract at Spurs and this has the big boys of European football on alert.
Christian Eriksen still has a year and a half left on his current contract with Tottenham Hotspur, however, despite the Premier League club’s desire to get him to extend the deal, nothing has yet been signed. This has some of Europe’s biggest teams keeping a close eye on developments with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly joining Real Madrid in the battle to secure his services.
PSG and Real Madrid are both keen to sign Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen.#psg #realmadrid #thfc pic.twitter.com/G43F8FUMlz
— 138 Zambia (@138zambia) November 21, 2018
The Danish midfielder is not asking for an outrageous amount to renew with the White Hart Lane club, but is hoping to be valued in the same light as other stars of the team like Delle Alli and Harry Kane. And while Spurs ponder whether or not to agree to his salary demands, Real Madrid and PSG are hoping to convince him that a better option is to swap the capital of England for that of Spain or France.
Real Madrid are plotting a £90m double signing – £50m for Manchester United’s England striker Marcus Rashford, 21, and £40m for Tottenham’s Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, 26. #MUFC #THFC
(Source: The Sun) pic.twitter.com/s5VW4NT00u
— Transferchanger (@TransferChanger) November 21, 2018
While the feeling is that the midfielder is intending to renew, newspaper Express Sport says that his doubts are not simply over the remuneration. He is hesitating because of the role he is sometimes given in matches.
In any case, if he can be convinced to leave, he will not come cheaply, with Daniel Levy generally proving himself to be a tough negotiator. There have been a number of deals made between the clubs over the years – including Van der Vaart, Modric and Bale – although he has said several times over the summer that he was not going to let any of his key players go.