Real Madrid sold Takefusa Kubo to Real Sociedad last year for just €7.5m, but they could still end up with a huge pay day for the Japan international if he is sold on in a big money deal.
Los Blancos looked to have pulled off the ultimate coup when they brought Kubo back to Spain in 2019, four years after he had been forced to leave Barcelona’s youth ranks over a breach of FIFA’s regulations on signing minors.
Yet a string of loans to Mallorca, Villarreal, Getafe and Mallorca again failed to translate into a first-team opportunity with Real, having also fallen foul of La Liga’s cap on non-EU players, and he left in 2022 without making a senior appearance.
Real Sociedad were the beneficiaries of that, showing face in Kubo and watching him flourish. He was a regular starter for the club in both La Liga and the Europa League, finishing the season with 44 appearances in all competitions, nine goals – all of which came in La Liga, and nine assists.
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As a team, La Real had an outstanding season and finished fourth in the final standings to book a place in the Champions League for the first time in 10 years. It was first-hand evidence that Kubo could play an important role in a competitive team near the top of the table.
His performances for La Real have unsurprisingly led to rumours of a possible transfer. Napoli are one such club reported by Italian media to be interested, having already experienced success in recent years with wingers like Hirving Lozano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
When Kubo joined La Real, the mandatory release clause in his contract was set at €60m. SPORT has reported that the Basque club do not intend to settle for anything less should offers come in, the reason being that Real Madrid hold a sell-on clause worth 50%.
Given that half of they could receive in a Kubo transfer contractually has to be passed on, it is logical for La Real to demand the highest possible price. But if they do manage to sell for the full €60m, it could be a big boost for those in Madrid, with €30m a substantial boost to the budget after losing Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz as free agents, and releasing Eden Hazard.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Why a Takesufa Kubo transfer could be worth €30m to Real Madrid.