Real Madrid had a great campaign in the 2021-2022 season. El Merengue won the Spanish Super Cup, conquered La Liga, and won the UEFA Champions League. But both Carlo Ancelotti and Florentino Perez know that for the team to be a protagonist in all competitions again next season, it needs to have players of the highest level.
It is difficult to imagine that any starting player will leave Real Madrid, however, the Spanish team will lose several bench players, and that is why La Casa Blanca need to sign new players. Marcelo, Gareth Bale, and Isco will leave the club as free agents on 1 July, in addition, Real Madrid are looking to sell or loan Luka Jovic, Mariano, and Jesus Vallejo. And the future of other players is still uncertain.
Real Madrid already signed Antonio Rudiger as a free agent from Chelsea (signed a contract for 4 seasons), and the club has also agreed to sign Aurelien Tchouameni for 100,000,000 euros from Monaco. Furthermore, Real Madrid seek to sign a striker, and rumors indicate that the chosen ones are Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison, or Sterling. However, the club would not be able to sign them but not because of a financial problem.
Real Madrid would not be able to sign Gabriel Jesus, Sterling or Richarlison
Real Madrid have long been dragging a problem: they have many foreigners and few gaps. A clog of non-EU citizen players is hindering the planning of next season. According to La Liga regulations, the Spanish league allows three non-EU players on the pitch, and those places are and will be for Militao, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo.
A non-EU national is not just any foreigner; they are those from America, Asia, or Europe outside the EU (for example, the UK). Real Madrid need their players to stop being non-EU citizens, and for that, soccer players need to have a Spanish passport. To do so, a player must meet exactly the same requirement as any other citizen: he must have been living in Spain for ten years. This figure is reduced by two years for those coming from Latin America, Andorra, the Philippines, or Equatorial Guinea.
Vinicius Junior began the procedures to obtain dual citizenship in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic arrived and delayed the process. According to reports, the Brazilian's data is in the queue of the Spanish Ministry of Justice along with more than 300,000 other people. In a year, the agency approves between 50 and 60 thousand passports.
The nearest case at Real Madrid was when Federico Valverde received dual citizenship in 2019, allowing the signing of Rodrygo. So, as long as El Merengue cannot solve this problem, they will not be able to sign Jesus, Sterling, Richarlison, or any other non-EU player.
