Nacho Fernandez’s Real Madrid renewal put on hold at player’s request

Veteran Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez has spent his entire career at the club, but is considering changing that next summer.

The 32-year-old is out of contract next summer and has not entered into renewal talks, as per Sport. Due to his lack of game time, he is considering leaving the club.

Following the arrival of Antonio Rudiger this summer, Nacho has seen a significant reduction in game time, starting six less games this season than at the same stage last campaign. In total, he has accumulated just 414 minutes across eleven matches. Only four of those were starts.

Although Nacho has never been first choice at Real Madrid, for many seasons he has been the first option off the bench in defence or the first to come into the team in case of injury. Yet Rudiger’s presence has put him further down the pecking order.

In previous windows Nacho has attracted interest from Benfica and Roma, and it is likely that many teams would be interested in adding a player of Nacho’s calibre to the side.

Real Madrid want to renew Nacho for a further year, and risk losing one of the stalwarts of their squad should he depart. While Nacho often goes underappreciated, he is the perfect rotation option for a top club: professional, committed and good enough to start for most clubs.