According to a recent report, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez decided to veto the agreed sale of a first team player in the January transfer window
One of president Florentino Perez's way of doing things is that the Real Madrid squad does not change in January. Not in terms of incomings, not in terms of outgoings. The only changes that could be made to the squad is the promotion of players from the academy - such as Thiago Pitarch this season.
It is a strict rule from Perez, and one he keeps to, as he proved again this winter. Indeed, as according to journalist Joaquin Maroto, Perez vetoed the sale of Fran Garcia to a Premier League club in January.
He states that the offer was for 30 million Euros, and that both Garcia and Alvaro Arbeloa gave the deal the green light, but Perez said no "without even looking at the offer", as it is a matter of his "philosophy and principles" to never change the squad in January.
Well, it is one thing to stick to your way of thinking and to not change that philosophy. However, simply put, rejecting 30 million Euros for a third, maybe even fourth choice left back is absolute madness. There is no other way to describe it in all honesty.
So far this season, Garcia has played just 1113 minutes for Real Madrid across all competitions, which is the equivalent of just under 12.5 full 90 minutes of football. This is despite Ferland Mendy, as usual, missing a number of games through injury.
It is clear he is behind the nominal left backs Mendy and Alvaro Carreras, and we have seen Eduardo Camavinga trusted as a makeshift option instead of Garcia at times too. So to get the offer of 30 million Euros, well you have to take that and run, surely.
Will they get that sort of offer again? Well, with the silly money being thrown around in the Premier League, you never know. But it still feels risky to reject. Hopefully, a similar amount of money will be offered in the summer, and then the club can just happily accept the fee.
The fact that Perez does not want to reshape the squad is not a good thing in general, not just in this instance. There have been many seasons where the season has been salvageable come January, but a lack of business in the window has cost the team.
Even this season, for instance. In late January, the team were only one point behind Barcelona. There was the chance to seriously chase them down with a couple of additions. But, such is life.
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