Benfica take hardline approach with Real Madrid for Álvaro Carreras

Álvaro Carreras and Real Madrid both recently landed in Florida to take part in the Club World Cup - on opposing sides.

The defender, who Xabi Alonso has earmarked as his No. 3 will remain, at least for another month, in Bruno Lage’s squad. That wasn’t what Madrid originally envisioned for their prospective left-back, but that’s the situation as things stand. Plenty of progress has been made during negotiations, but the player’s price tag remains a bone of contention.

There’s still plenty of ground to cover at the negotiating table. Personal terms have never been an issue. The sticking point remains the overall fee.

The fee Benfica are seeking for Álvaro Carreras

Real Madrid have been working for some time now to break down Benfica’s resistance, knocking on the Lisbon club’s door more than once. But so far, the answer hasn’t changed. Benfica president Rui Costa made that crystal clear from Florida, telling reporters: “We haven’t reached an agreement with Madrid (...). There were proposals that didn’t convince us — not for Álvaro, or for any other player.”

Madrid has been working to negotiate down Carreras’s hefty €50 million (roughly $54 million) release clause. But Benfica isn’t exactly known for flexibility in the transfer market. As reported by AS, on June 7, the two clubs were still €8 million apart — Madrid was offering €40 million, while Benfica was toying with the idea of accepting €48 million.

No handshake came in time. And on June 10 at 6:00 a.m. EST, Carreras was officially registered for FIFA’s summer club tournament... with Benfica. No agreement, no deal. For now, the move is on pause.

It’s a clear statement of intent. Benfica isn’t slamming the door on Real Madrid — far from it — but there’s still a lot of negotiating left to do.

The Lisbon-based club knows it holds all the cards. Madrid is in need of a left back, Carreras is their top target, and they’re ready to pay up. Benfica is playing that leverage to the hilt. But there’s another wrinkle complicating talks: not all of the transfer fee will end up in Benfica’s coffers.

The “United Factor” is very much in play

Manchester United holds a €18 million ($19.5 million) buy-back option on Álvaro Carreras — a route Real Madrid considered using as a workaround to lower the transfer fee, effectively using United as a bridge club. But that avenue was quickly ruled out.

Still, another clause remains very much alive. When United sold Carreras to Benfica for €6 million, they retained, as The Athletic reported, 20% of any future sale — as long as that sale tops £5 million (around €6 million). And in these types of deals, that 20% is applied to the profit, not the total.

So, if Carreras ends up going to Madrid for €50 million, United would earn a cut of the €44 million profit. That’s nearly €9 million ($9.8 million) heading back to Old Trafford.

Payment in installments

Triggering Carreras’s €50 million ($54 million) release clause would require a lump-sum payment up front — and that’s precisely what Real Madrid is trying to avoid.

Instead, the club is looking to structure the deal in installments, much like they did with Dean Huijsen and Franco Mastantuono, spreading the cost out over three payments in both cases. This isn’t just about cash flow — it also opens the door to more favorable tax treatment, which makes the option all the more appealing.

In fact, that tax advantage has even led Madrid to sign off on deals above the release clause amount in the past, just to steer clear of the lump-sum mechanism. Internally, there’s optimism: Madrid expects to welcome Carreras in July. But before that can happen, they’ll need to get Benfica on board — and there’s still a long list of details to hammer out.