Real Madrid open contract extension talks with Aurelien Tchouameni as Manchester United and Liverpool circle
Real Madrid have opened internal talks on extending Aurelien Tchouameni’s contract, a move that is being read at the Bernabeu as the club’s answer to the renewed Manchester United and Liverpool interest from the Premier League. The 26-year-old French midfielder is under contract until June 2028. Madrid would like that pushed out further, and the player is not asking to go anywhere.
Foot Mercato reported the extension talks on Tuesday and the picture from inside the club is consistent. Tchouameni has cemented himself as a starter this season under Alvaro Arbeloa, has filled in at centre-back when Madrid have needed him to, and is being treated as a non-transferable asset until the club decides otherwise.
A changed conversation at the Bernabeu
Madrid have been here before with Tchouameni. Last summer there was a quiet acceptance that if a club came in with a serious bid he might be allowed to leave. Twelve months on, the position has hardened. The midfielder’s tactical range has expanded, the dressing room treats him as a leader, and the contract talks reflect that he is now part of the long-term plan, not a sellable asset.
The reported package is built around an improved salary as much as a longer term. The player has not pushed for a renewal himself, but sources close to him have repeatedly said he is content in Madrid, and the only public noise about a move has come out of the English press.
Why United and Liverpool keep coming back
Both Manchester United and Liverpool have made discreet approaches via the player’s representatives in recent months. Tchouameni would slot directly into either midfield. United are looking at him as a partner for Carlos Baleba in a rebuilt Old Trafford engine room. Liverpool see him as the player who finishes the post-Klopp midfield reset that Arne Slot has been working through.
Madrid’s valuation is the part that makes either move difficult. Internal numbers have been pitched at over 70 million pounds, and the actual asking price would almost certainly start above that if the club ever decided to sell. Neither English club is likely to spend that much on a midfielder this summer when both are also looking at strikers and defenders.
What an extension does to the market
If Madrid get the extension done before the end of the season the conversation effectively closes. A new contract running into 2030 with improved terms moves the price point to a level no Premier League club is going to match for a player who is happy where he is. Baleba then becomes the realistic target for United and Liverpool look elsewhere.
If the extension stalls, the picture changes quickly. Tchouameni would become one of the most-watched names in Europe over the summer, and the price tag would still be enormous. The most likely outcome is the one Madrid are pushing for. The midfielder stays, the salary goes up, and the United and Liverpool interest gets parked for another year. The window for either club to make a real move is small and probably closing.
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