Liverpool could repeat Fabinho transfer trick to sign Euro 2024 breakout star

Liverpool have every reason to be sick of the sight of Real Madrid both on and off the pitch in recent years.

The La Liga giants have proven to be the Reds’ ‘White Whale’, defeating them in two Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022, while also knocking them out of Europe’s elite competition in both 2021 and 2023.

Meanwhile, while it’s been 15 years since they came calling for one of Liverpool’s top talents (Xabi Alonso in 2009), they have form for repeatedly getting the better of the Reds when the two clubs compete for the continent’s most sought after players.

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Liverpool have missed out on Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham to the Spanish giants in each of the last two summers, though they had already conceded defeat in the race for the latter. Rodrygo has previously confirmed that he once snubbed the Reds’ advances in favour of a switch to Madrid, while Toni Kroos held talks with the club before opting for Real instead.

They had also long grown resigned to the fact that they would be unable to lure Kylian Mbappe to Anfield, having first held talks with the Frenchman when he was still with AS Monaco, prior to his belated Bosman move to the Bernabeu from Paris Saint-Germain.

Consequently, they are well aware that history could well repeat itself this summer as they continue to monitor Leny Yoro’s situation at Lille. While they are keen to sign the 18-year-old, who is out of contract next year and set to be sold this summer as a result, there is an acknowledgement that the Frenchman favours Real Madrid with the Spanish giants favourites to land his signature as a result.

Real Madrid coming out on top in the transfer market is nothing new, having long established themselves as the place to be for the planet’s elite players. The biggest club in the world, they pay the most and, boasting 15 Champions Leagues, 36 La Liga titles and 20 domestic cups, success is guaranteed for their global stars.

But not every one of their players becomes an adored Galatico, winning trophy after trophy while enjoying their peak years in the Spanish capital. Sometimes Real Madrid careers have a premature end.

And while Liverpool might struggle to get the better of the La Liga giants when competing for global stars, more times than not they have proven there is life after the Bernabeu.

Nicolas Anelka was the first example, enjoying a successful loan stint with the Reds in 2001/02 to rebuild his reputation after challenging stints in both Madrid and back at Paris Saint-Germain. A £22.3m signing for the Spanish outfit from Arsenal in 1999, he lasted just a season with the club before returning to France.

And while he won the Champions League with Madrid, he scored seven goals from 31 games with only two coming in La Liga. Consequently, it was no surprise when he was moved on after just one season. Faring better at Liverpool, it is still a regret that Gerard Houllier decided against signing him permanently.

Having come through Real Madrid's academy, Alvaro Arbeloa dreamed of playing for his boyhood club. Yet he was limited to just four appearances, and sold to Deportivo La Coruna in July 2006. Six months later, he was on the move again with his performances earning him a £2.6m move to Liverpool.

Silencing Lionel Messi on his full debut for the club against Barcelona in the Champions League, he quickly established himself as first-choice during his two and a half years at Anfield. Making 98 appearances, his form earned him a place in the Spain squad, before he secured a dream return to the Bernabeu in 2009.

Antonio Nunez, Fernando Morientes and Nuri Sahin ultimately all flopped at Liverpool when joining the club directly from Real Madrid, with their stints at Anfield only brief as a result. But in Fabinho, the Reds boast their greatest success story when it comes to snapping up one of the Spanish giants’ former players.

The Brazilian is a Liverpool legend, having won every major honour for the club prior to his £40m move to Al-Ittihad last summer. Joining from AS Monaco in a £43m deal days after the Reds’ Champions League final loss to Madrid in 2018, he went on to make 219 appearances, scoring 11 goals, while establishing himself as one of the best number sixes in Europe.

Yet such success only came after deciding his future would not be at Real Madrid. Moving to Europe with Rio Ave in 2012 as an 18-year-old, he completed a surprise switch to the Spanish giants’ Castilla side a month later. Making 30 appearances in the Segunda Division, he impressed enough to even be handed a La Liga debut after being called up to the first team by Jose Mourinho.

But despite being told he had a good chance of making the first team at the Bernabeu by coaches if he joined the club permanently, he instead signed for Monaco in confidence of gaining regular playing time.

So Liverpool could take advantage of Real Madrid in such a way again in the future? Well they continue to be linked with a move for Takefusa Kubo as a potential long-term successor to Mohamed Salah, with the 23-year-old shining with Real Sociedad over the past two seasons.

He joined them permanently from Real in the summer of 2022, having spent the previous three years on loan at Mallorca, Villarreal and Getafe and never made a senior appearance during his time with Madrid, and has gone on to return 16 goals from 65 La Liga appearances for Sociedad. While his contract runs until 2029, it reportedly contains a €60m release clause.

While the Reds have been tipped to move for Rodrygo following Mbappe’s arrival at the Bernabeu, you can imagine all elite clubs over Europe would be interested in the Brazilian if he was actually made available for transfer. Likewise, it would not be a surprise to see Liverpool reignite interest in Tchouameni if he left Real Madrid in the near future, having continued to be linked with the Frenchman over the past year.

Meanwhile, UOL, via TEAMTalk, claim Arda Guler could leave the Bernabeu this summer following the arrivals of Mbappe and Endrick. While they suggest a loan move to Real Sociedad is possible, they also claim Reds head coach Arne Slot would be keen on the Turk if he were made available.

Liverpool had reportedly been interested in Guler prior to his move to Madrid, only to be put off by his transfer fee with Fenerbahce demanding the teenager’s €17.5m release clause be met. ESPN claimed such a deal would also include a 20% cut of any future transfer fee for the Turkish outfit, though Real Madrid initially signed him for an initial €20m last summer.

Injury prevented the Turk from making his debut until January 2024, but he finished last season with an impressive six goals from just 10 La Liga games for Madrid, and was an unused substitute as they won the Champions League. Taking such form into the European Championships, he has been one of the early stars of Euro 2024 after scoring a sensational strike in Turkey’s 3-1 win over Georgia - becoming the youngest goalscoring debutant in the tournament’s history in the process.

Naturally left-footed, his senior game-time to date has mainly been split between playing as an inverted right-winger and as an attacking midfielder. Consequently, like Kubo, he could also fit the profile of a possible successor to Salah.

Liverpool might have previously been left frustrated by Real Madrid in the transfer market, but, as they did in the past with Fabinho in particular, they know how to succeed at the Spanish giants’ expense also.