According to the Ass, both Alaba and Rudiger may leave this summer. Real Madrid will pay attention to Militon's state and decide whether to continue to strengthen the central defender position. Their first choice is Connat.

Real Madrid has clearly discovered the main flaws in the team's defense. The offensive end appears to have been covered by Mbappe and Vinicius in principle, and there is Bellingham who can hand over center-level data, as he did two years ago. Although there are shortcomings in the midfield, the club firmly believes that it can tap into more potential of existing players and believes that Xavi Alonso can do this. Therefore, among the four signings so far (the fourth is attacking midfielder Mastantono), three of them are defensive players: a right back (Arnold), a left back (A Fee) and a central defender (Wysen).

Things don't seem to stop there. Castia player Raul Asensio, coached by Aveloa, has officially been promoted to the first team, and Juan Martinez is expected to frequently get first-team opportunities. These new faces will provide rotations for the existing lineup and even replace some veterans. Especially Alaba, the club hopes to find a next home for him, but its super high salary complicates the situation. Rudiger's situation is roughly the same, and he failed to deliver a good performance in the Club World Cup. Both are on the verge of leaving the team.

If the two eventually leave the team, Real Madrid may face a shortage of manpower at the central defender position. But it may not be, because there is a name that affects many factors: Militon. The Brazilian player's ability to play in the August game will determine to a great extent whether Real Madrid will chase another target on the defensive line (the first choice is Liverpool's Connaet). Connate has only one year left in its contract, but the England club is currently asking for overpriced prices. Time may soften the situation and will also affect Real Madrid's urgency.

To this end, Real Madrid first needs to evaluate Militon's status. The Brazilian player, who signed from Porto for 50 million euros in 2019, has proved that he has the top level since he has been firmly in the main role in 2021. He is a key contributor to the 2021-22 league Champions League double championship. But the situation is special: he tore the anterior cruciate ligament of both knees (once once in 2023-24, once in last season). Despite this, he showed excellent recovery, shorter recovery cycle than expected, and gained playing time in the Club World Cup.

Although it was difficult to make a conclusion in just 26 minutes of appearance, the performance against Paris in New Jersey was encouraging: the Brazilian touched the ball 22 times, 12 passes successfully 10 times, two key defenses blocked Gonzalo Ramos' shot, and completed two shots (one hit the target, almost scored). Without him, Real Madrid's speed of pursuit and ability to control the air have declined.

He has just gotten married and is now on holiday and plans to resume training without reservation from August 4. However, people around him tend to return step by step to avoid excessive loading and recurrence of knee injuries. Militon's side is cautious: Ancelotti overused him at the beginning of the 2024-25 season after his first cruciate ligament rupture. The goal is to avoid repeating the same mistakes, but at the same time Real Madrid needs to test their status through the August friendly match and three league games (if the schedule remains unchanged). Militon's recovery will determine whether Real Madrid will maintain the status quo or find another central defender to consolidate the foundation of Xavi Alonso's plan.