Marc Cucurella is officially a Real Madrid player after completing a surprise move to the Spanish giants at the start of the week – and Marc Pubill has shared how the Spain squad has responded.
This time last week, reports emerged that Cucurella was set to join Real Madrid. It comes after coming through the La Masia academy at Barcelona and hinting back in March that he could make a return.
RATE 1-10: Is Marc Cucurella’s exit good business by Chelsea?
Cucurella had made it obvious behind the scenes that he wanted a new chapter in his career after four years with Chelsea. Without Champions League football, others are likely to follow Cucurella out the door.
When Real Madrid decided to table an initial £47.5m plus £4.3m in add-ons, Chelsea decided to accept, and come Monday morning, a deal had been confirmed. But how did the Spain squad react to the news?
Marc Pubill shares how the Spain squad responded to Cucurella
If choosing Real Madrid over Barcelona was a surprise, then the speed of the deal was just as eye-opening. Jose Mourinho has now raided Chelsea five times since leaving the Blues back in 2007.
Speaking during an interview with Marca, Pubill was asked about Cucurella’s move and how the Spain World Cup squad have responded to the news, which came on the same day as Spain’s first outing.
Pubill was asked: “Have you made any jokes with Cucurella in the locker room?”, to which he replied: “He acknowledged it, we’ve made jokes about that.” He was then asked: “What did you say to him?”
“Nothing, just that he’s always a joker and we joke around with him, but the truth is we all found out the moment it was official. We were a little surprised, but very happy for him. I hope he enjoys it and that’s it.”
Chelsea have made a loss, but not in the eyes of FFP
Back in the summer of 2022, Chelsea paid Brighton a £60m fee to lure Cucurella to Stamford Bridge from Brighton. Four years on, Chelsea have sold him for an initial fee of £47.5m, possibly reaching £51.8m.
Marc Cucurella is set to join Real Madrid! What’s a fair price? 💸
Mourinho raids Chelsea!
Even if Chelsea do receive all of the promised add-ons, the Blues will still make an £8.2m loss on Cucurella but that does not mean it’s a Financial Fairplay hit. Amortisation means Chelsea have made a profit.
Indeed, in terms of the books, Chelsea have received a £17.5m profit and that will give them a little more room to enter the transfer market and sign more players. It all depends on what Alonso wants to bring in.
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