Barcelona have enjoyed a period of dominance over Spanish football in the last two seasons, winning five of the six domestic titles on offer, including back-to-back La Liga crowns.
That success has clearly stung Real Madrid, and president Florentino Perez is now preparing to spend big in an effort to shift the balance of power back in their favour.
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According to Mundo Deportivo, the scale of Real Madrid’s spending this summer could even surpass the famous 2010 rebuild, when Perez last turned to Jose Mourinho to dethrone a great Barcelona side.
Real Madrid’s summer splurge
Real Madrid have already signed four new players this summer. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Real Madrid have already been active this window, signing Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva on free transfers, paying €60 million for Marc Cucurella and €20 million for Denzel Dumfries.
And they are not stopping there. Reports suggest the club are ready to spend more than €100 million on RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, while a further nine-figure move for Manchester City’s Rodri is also being lined up.
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Should both deals go through, this summer’s outlay would comfortably eclipse the €182.2 million Real Madrid spent last year on the likes of Franco Mastantuono, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras and Trent Alexander-Arnold, none of whom have yet secured a regular role.
Echoes of 2010
The parallels with 2010 are hard to ignore.
Back then, Perez appointed Mourinho and surrounded him with Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Ricardo Carvalho, all in an attempt to topple Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona.
Hansi Flick is ready for the Real Madrid challenge. (Picture credit: X/@FCBarcelona)
Perez has once again hired the same coach, paying €15 million to release Mourinho from Benfica, and is offering the Portuguese even greater backing than he had 16 years ago.
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Barça staying true to their model
Barcelona, by contrast, continue to operate within their financial limitations and lean heavily on La Masia.
Their business this summer has been comparatively restrained, with Anthony Gordon arriving from Newcastle for €70 million and Karim Adeyemi joining from Borussia Dortmund for €22 million.
With the Julian Alvarez saga still unresolved, the stage is set for a familiar showdown.
Mourinho’s expensively assembled Real Madrid against a Barcelona side determined to protect the dominance they have fought so hard to establish.
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