NextFin news, On November 9, 2025, Sports Mole revealed a startling transfer rumor: Real Madrid's manager Xabi Alonso is reportedly 'fed up' with veteran left-back Ferland Mendy's ongoing injury struggles, prompting speculation about a shock exit in the 2026 transfer window. Mendy, 30, who has missed a staggering 113 matches for club and country since joining Los Blancos from Lyon in 2019, remains frequently sidelined, with no appearances registered this season due to a thigh injury. Meanwhile, newly-signed Alvaro Fernandez has consolidated his position as Real Madrid’s first-choice left-back, further diminishing Mendy's prospects.
This potential departure comes amidst reported interest from Real Madrid’s fierce city rivals Atletico Madrid, whose head coach Diego Simeone has grown dissatisfied with left-back Matteo Ruggeri’s performance and lifestyle since his summer arrival. Simeone reportedly sees Mendy as a player who brings "defensive intensity, sacrifice and reliability," fitting closely with his tactical philosophy. Despite Mendy's injury-laden past, Atletico's medical staff currently have no grave fitness concerns, confident that with proper management, Mendy can maintain availability and contribute significantly to their defensive setup.
Financially, Real Madrid reportedly value Mendy at approximately €10 million (£8.8 million), a figure that makes the transfer feasible for Atletico. Alongside Mendy, Real Madrid are expected to offload other defenders like David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger, whose contracts end in the 2025-26 season. Concurrently, Los Blancos are poised to reinforce their defense with the free transfers of Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate and potentially Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano, signaling a strategic overhaul of their backline in response to evolving tactical requirements and squad aging.
Analyzing this development, multiple factors underpin Real Madrid’s managerial impatience and Atletico’s pursuit of Mendy. Primarily, Mendy’s persistent fitness setbacks – missing over a third of possible games since 2019 – have critically impacted squad consistency and tactical cohesion on the left flank. Real Madrid's acquisition of the younger and fitter Alvaro Fernandez reflects a deliberate move toward enhancing defensive reliability and attack support from the full-back position.
From Atletico Madrid's perspective, Simeone’s public discontent with Matteo Ruggeri highlights the imperative for experience coupled with defensive grit in the squad. Ruggeri, at 23, has shown promising flashes but has not secured a regular starting role, underscored by limited appearances (5 out of 12 La Liga matches), as per the current 2025-26 season data. Simeone’s preference for Mendy indicates Atletico’s short-to-medium term tactical prioritization of a robust, seasoned defender capable of immediate impact and discipline – qualities synonymous with Spain’s La Liga's traditionally pragmatic defensive style under Simeone.
Real Madrid’s valuation of Mendy at €10 million, while modest relative to the club’s financial scale, reflects a pragmatic assessment balancing asset liquidation with squad renewal. The proposed move could relieve wage expenditure and address squad depth challenges. For Atletico, the acquisition represents a calculated risk, opting for a seasoned professional whose fitness issues are mitigated by advanced medical supervision and tailored conditioning, as intimated by their club doctors.
This potential transfer also highlights broader La Liga competitive dynamics, where inter-city transfers between fierce rivals carry significant psychological and tactical implications. Should Mendy succeed at Atletico Madrid, this move may shift balance in tightly contested league battles, particularly in defensive solidity and flank management.
From a forward-looking perspective, Real Madrid’s ongoing defensive restructuring – including likely departures of stalwarts Alaba and Rudiger, coupled with signing Konate and possibly Upamecano – signals a generational transition. Deploying younger, injury-resilient defenders aligns with a broader trend among elite European clubs leveraging free transfers and data-driven scouting to optimize squad longevity amid intensifying fixture congestion and Champions League ambitions.
Moreover, the management's apparent intolerance toward fitness unreliability underscores an elevated standard in top-tier football, where tactical fluidity and high physical demands necessitate full availability from key position players. This will likely prompt other La Liga clubs to similarly pivot in their player recruitment and career management approaches.
In conclusion, Real Madrid's manager Xabi Alonso's reported frustration with Ferland Mendy's injury problems embodies a pivotal moment of tactical evolution and squad management within one of football's most celebrated institutions. Mendy's potential 2026 transfer to Atletico Madrid not only exemplifies the nuanced player valuation complexities balancing experience, fitness, and tactical fit but also signals strategic recalibrations with meaningful consequences for intra-city rivalry and La Liga's competitive landscape. Clubs' growing reliance on sport science and medical precision in managing player assets is set to intensify, impacting transfer market behaviors and squad construction philosophies at the highest levels of football competition.
According to Sports Mole, these developments are unfolding during a season where Real Madrid lead La Liga by four points with a game in hand, yet suffer from Champions League setbacks, emphasizing the critical need for robust defensive options to support their dual-front ambitions.
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