Real Madrid generated around €215million from the summer sales of more than a dozen academy products, a club record that helped fund the first-team rebuild, according to The Athletic’s analysis. The deals underline how La Fábrica has become a significant source of transfer revenue as well as a route for developing professional players.
The headline transactions included a €60m renegotiation with Como over Nico Paz, who joined the Italian club in August 2024, and a combined €50m paid by Fulham for striker Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Cesar Palacios. Gonzalo Garcia’s move to Fulham and Cesar Palacios’s transfer formed a major part of that return.
Liverpool paid €20m for winger Victor Munoz, with Madrid receiving half after including a 50 per cent sell-on clause when he joined Osasuna in 2025. The income has helped support the rebuild, including Yan Diomande’s arrival from RB Leipzig in a deal worth up to €140m with add-ons.
| Deal | Reported fee or return |
|---|---|
| Nico Paz / Como renegotiation | €60m |
| Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios / Fulham | €50m combined |
| Victor Munoz / Liverpool | €20m to Madrid |
The scale of the sales is not simply the product of one successful season. CIES data from October 2025 found that as many as 58 players trained at Madrid were playing in professional leagues across the 49 competitions it studied. La Fábrica is designed primarily to produce professional footballers, rather than to guarantee places in a first-team squad with limited openings.
Madrid generally sell graduates while retaining a sell-on clause, often set at 50 per cent, rather than relying solely on loans. The Athletic notes that the pathway out of the academy has been shaped by general director Jose Angel Sanchez; Dani Carvajal illustrates how a sale need not end a player’s Madrid career, having joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 before returning a year later. A buy-back option for Nico Paz offers another possible route back, although he chose to stay at Como for at least another season.
Madrid also kept highly regarded young players including centre-back Joan Martinez and winger Daniel Yanez instead of selling every prospect who attracted interest. The club has reinvested in Castilla, signing Granada centre-back Oscar Nassei for €2.5m and Racing Santander midfielder Sergio Martinez for €3.5m; Martinez is expected to alternate between Castilla and the first team.
Gonzalo Garcia chose Fulham despite Mourinho wanting him to stay, with Palacios and Manuel Angel also following former Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa to the club. The sales have delivered a record financial return, but whether more graduates can establish themselves in the senior squad, even as rotation options, remains unresolved.
