Real freed up nearly 100 million USD in salary costs
According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Real will cut $ 82 million in salary thanks to the separation of four stars on this attack. In particular, Hazard earns the highest salary with $ 32 million per season. Captain Benzema earns a seasonal salary of 30 million USD, while Asensio and Diaz both pocket 10 million USD per season. Plus the bonuses according to the sub-clause in the contract of each player, the amount of money Real saved after these four strikers left up to nearly 100 million.
On June 3, Real announced that Asensio and Diaz would both leave the club when their contracts expire in June 2023, and reached an agreement to terminate Hazard's contract one year early.
In particular, Asensio joined Real from Mallorca in 2015 and scored 61 goals in 285 matches in all competitions. Diaz played for Real's youth team during 2011-2012, but could not compete for the position since he was promoted to the first team in 2016. He moved to Lyon for the 2017-2018 season, then was recruited by Real again for a fee of about 25 million. USD. In total, Diaz scored 12 goals in 84 matches for Real.
Hazard is the most disappointing name when he has fallen in form and is often injured since arriving at Real in the summer of 2019 for $ 136 million. The Belgian striker has missed 78 matches due to injury in the past four years, which is more than he has played (76) and scored only seven goals.
At noon on June 4, Madrid time, Real confirmed the termination of the contract with Benzema one year ahead of time. In the summer of 2009, the French striker joined Real with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka or Xabi Alonso. He has scored 354 goals in 647 games, and is in the group of players who hold the record to win five Champions Leagues. Benzema's peak was in the 2021-2022 season, when he first won the Ballon d'Or.
On the evening of the same day, Asensio, Diaz, Hazard and Benzema played the last match when Real drew 1-1 with Bilbao at the Bernabeu at the final round of La Liga. In which, Benzema scored from the 11m mark to fix the score. After the match, Asensio, Diaz, Hazard and Benzema were respectively channeled by their teammates to express their gratitude.
Farewell to four stars in attack, Real currently only has two strikers, Vinicius and Rodrygo. After the draw with Bilbao, coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that he would recruit a striker when the transfer window opened.
According to British newspaper Sportmail, striker Harry Kane is Real's top target. But the royal team will have to pay at least $125 million in transfer fees even though the England captain has only one year left on his contract with Tottenham.
Meanwhile, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Real has opened negotiations with Chelsea about the possibility of recruiting Kai Havertz - who is highly appreciated by Ancelotti because he can play well in many positions.
