Why Real Madrid Chose to Sign Eder Militao Instead of Matthijs de Ligt
By Ali Rampling
Real Madrid opted to sign Eder Militao instead of Matthijs de Ligt when they parted with €50m to sign the Brazilian central defender in 2019.
The Spanish giants broke the club's record transfer for a defender in order to bring Militao to the Bernabeu in 2019. However, this was before Zinedine Zidane returned to the club and the current Real manager did not sanction the signing.
As a result, Militao has been on the fringes of the Real starting XI this season, and has not lived up to his lofty price tag during his limited appearances.
According to AS, when Real were in the market for a central defender last season, De Ligt was one of the options considered before the club decided to sign Militao instead.
The Dutch international was one of a number of youngsters who shone for Ajax during their run to the semi finals of the Champions League, and as a result attracted an assortment of suitors.
Barcelona and Juventus entered a bidding war to secure his signature, with the latter eventually emerging victorious, paying Ajax €75m for the defender.
However, prior to Barcelona and Juventus battling it out to sign the 20-year-old, he had been on Real's radar. But AS' report says the club instead chose to sign Militao because of his availability, price tag and profile. Los Blancos also enjoy a good relationship with Porto - his former club - and his lower profile made the transfer quicker and easier to complete.
Additionally, the Brazilian had not asked for any transfer talk to be delayed until the end of the season before he could decide on his preferred destination, as De Ligt had done - allowing a deal to be concluded in March.
The 22-year-old's physical and technical attributes are also said to have been a key driver in Real's decision making, as well as the versatility that he had previously demonstrated at Porto. To this point, Real look to have made the wrong call - but time will tell whether Militao can turn things around in the Spanish capital.