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Real Madrid target Kepa Arrizabalaga signed a new deal with Athletic Bilbao today and will stay with the Basque club until the summer of 2025. The club announced that he now has an €80 million release clause.
El Athletic Club y el jugador @kepa_46 han suscrito el acuerdo de renovación por el que el jugador permanecerá en la disciplina rojiblanca hasta el 30 de junio de 2025. La cláusula de rescisión será de 80 millones de euros. #athletic pic.twitter.com/KMzTbMoqz4
— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) January 22, 2018
Reports from MARCA suggested that Los Blancos were going to sign Kepa either this winter or next summer as a free agent but Madrid will now have to look elsewhere if they want to upgrade the goalkeeper spot.
Coach Zinedine Zidane stated over and over again that he did not want the club to make any signings this winter and it definitely seems that he ended up convincing the board. However, Real Madrid lost the chance of signing a quality keeper as a free agent now that Kepa has signed his extension.
Perhaps Real Madrid were used by Kepa and his agents as bait to improve Athletic’s offer to extend his current deal, although it would also be interesting to hear Madrid’s side of the story.