Real Madrid, Arsenal’s efforts to transfer the star stopper William Saliba faced a great obstacle. According to The Sun and @TransferNews X shares, Arsenal demands at least 120 million euros for the 24 -year -old French defense player. This figure, Real Madrid’s transfer budget forcing, club president Florentino Perez’in harsh response drew attention. Perez, who spoke to AS, “to get a player at this price is crazy. Saliba is good, but it does not deserve this money,” he rejected Arsenal’s request. This development interrupted Real Madrid’s plans to strengthen the defense line and led to heated debates between the fans.
Saliba became the backbone of Arsenal’s defense in the 2024/2025 season. According to Sofascore data, Saliba, which plays with 3.8 ball grabbing and 92 %pass hit per game, is shown as one of the best stoppers in the Premier League. Real Madrid saw Saliba as a long -term solution due to the aging of David Alaba and the formlessness of Militao. However, Arsenal, the Champions League 2024/2025 semi-finals, despite being eliminated to Paris Saint-Germain, Saliba’yı as the future of the team evaluates and does not intend to quit. Sky Sports reported that Arsenal has prepared a new 5 -year contract for Saliba and offered a salary of 400,000 euros per week.
Perez’s reaction points to frugality in Real Madrid’s transfer policy. The club prefers to invest in young talents such as Arda Güler and avoids high -cost transfers. In X, @halamadridvn praised Perez because he exhibited a “wise stance ,, while @goonerdail described Arsenal’s decision to protect Saliba as“ evidence of the club’s power .. On the other hand, @Laligafanclub suggested that Real Madrid could think of Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen, for example, a more affordable alternative rather than Saliba.
This obstacle caused Real Madrid to re -evaluate the defense strategy before the Barcelona match on May 11, 2025. Ancelotti, with the fall of Saliba transfer into the water, the current squad has to trust Antonio Rüdiger and young Alvaro Fernandez more. Saliba’s remaining in Arsenal strengthens the Premier League team’s hand in the championship race, while Real Madrid’s leading leader Barcelona in La Liga can make it difficult. In the transfer market, the value of Saliba continues to increase; Some experts predict that it can reach 150 million euros in the future (The Guardian).
Fans, Real Madrid will give up in this transfer. It is clear that Perez will not submit to Arsenal’s demands, but Saliba’s performance in the Champions League 2025/2026 may re -activate Real Madrid. For now, Saliba continues to remain as the castle of Arsenal, and Perez’s exit will continue to echo in the transfer market. How to fill the gap on the defense line of Real Madrid will be one of the biggest questions for the rest of the season and during the summer transfer period.
