​Over the last several years, Real Madrid have embraced a clear policy regarding academy graduates who struggle to secure a regular spot in the first team. Instead of losing control over these promising talents entirely, the club allows them to depart while keeping a substantial portion of their economic rights. This approach has proven highly successful, delivering significant rewards for the club.
In most cases, Los Blancos retain 50% of the player’s rights, enabling them to benefit both on the pitch and financially from future transfers. There have been exceptions, such as Mariano Diaz, whose move to Lyon left Real Madrid with 40% after selling 60%, and Oscar Rodriguez, where the club transferred 75% of his rights to Sevilla. Nevertheless, the standard method has been to retain half of the player’s rights while also including buy-back or matching rights. This arrangement gives Real Madrid the option to bring back former academy players if they continue to develop.
The strategy has already yielded notable financial returns. By selling the retained 50% ownership stakes in several former academy graduates, Real Madrid have generated over €100 million in additional income this summer. The largest returns came from Nico Paz, who was re-signed and then sold back to Como for €60 million, and Victor Muñoz, who moved from CA Osasuna to Liverpool, leaving €20 million in the club’s coffers. Alvaro Rodriguez’s transfer to AFC Bournemouth brought €12.5 million, while Alex Jimenez’s permanent move to the same club added another €10 million. More recently, Real Madrid sold Fran Garcia to Real Betis for €4 million while retaining 50% of his rights, and Mario Gila’s transfer to AC Milan from Lazio contributed €15 million. Taken together, these deals have generated more than €120 million for Real Madrid solely from the portions of the players’ rights that the club retained. Importantly, these figures reflect additional earnings on top of the transfer fees the club had already received when initially selling the first half of each player’s rights.
The success of this model underscores Real Madrid’s faith in La Fabrica’s quality. Rather than prioritizing immediate transfer income, the club has been prepared to accept smaller upfront payments with the expectation that, as these players establish themselves in professional football, their market value will rise substantially. Thus far, that approach has been vindicated. The strategy appears poised to continue generating dividends in the future, with several former academy players in whom Real Madrid still own 50% of the rights potentially moving in this coming summer’s transfer window.