Three takeaways from Real Madrid’s reported signing of Manchester City’s Brahim Diaz

Real Madrid are about to complete the signing of Manchester City attacker Brahim Díaz, according to reports. Brahim would be a free agent in June and that’s the main reason why Manchester City are somewhat forced to sell the player now if they don’t want him to leave as a free agent. However, Madrid are reportedly going to spend close to €15 million when they could wait just six more months. Here are some reasons why that’s happening.

1. Los Blancos would probably need to pay that much money to Brahim as a ‘signing bonus’ if he were to become a free agent. This is common practice in football. Free agents earn big fees when they are not under contract and clubs often compete to see who can offer the players the more money. It’s true that it would be better for Madrid to give those €15 million to Brahim and his agent instead of Manchester City, but they possibly think that other clubs would be willing to offer the player a bigger fee in June.
2. Madrid probably think the player can contribute this season. Nobody should expect Brahim to become a starter right off the bat. However, he’s a quality player who could be relevant off the bench this very same year. €15 million seem a bit too much for a player with that kind of role for just six months, but this is still a very good signing.
3. Other clubs were seriously interested in Brahim Diaz. Make no mistake. If Madrid are spending that kind of money on a soon-to-be free agent it’s because they were afraid that some other clubs could interfere in the deal, tempting Brahim with a bigger contract or even a better role.