Real Madrid decide against move to sign €80 million Premier League star as reason comes to light: Reports

Real Madrid have reportedly called off a move for Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi, as they don’t reckon the Spaniard would be an automataic starter at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zubimendi, 27, has been at the Emirates since arriving from Real Sociedad last summer. In his lone season in North London, the 2026 FIFA World Cup winner made a whopping 57 appearances across competitions, scoring six times and assisting thrice.

The former Sociedad man scored five of those goals and bagged an assist in 38 games in the Premier League, where Mikel Arteta’s side won their first top-flight title since their historic ‘Invincibles’ triumph in 2004. His two other assists came in 13 outings in the UEFA Champions League, where the Gunners lost to holders Paris Saint-Germain in the final on penalties.

Despite being contracted to the Emirates till 2030, Zubimendi was linked with a move to Los Blancos. However, as per Miguel Serrano (via Madrid Universal), while the Spaniard was internally discussed, the club eventually didn’t go ahead with a move, as they feel he wouldn’t be a significant upgrade on the existing options.

Moreover, any potential move wouldn’t have come cheap, with the Gunners rating the Spanirad at €80 million, having bought him from Sociedad for €60 million just over a year ago. Having seemingly missed out on Rodri – who’s tipped to join Barcelona – Real Madrid could utlise summer arrival Bernardo Silva for a deeplying playmaker role.

How did Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi, a Real Madrid target, fare at 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi was on the bench for Spain’s opening seven games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which La Roja won with a 1-0 extra time win over 10-man holders Argentina in the final in New Jersey last month.

The Real Madrid man had come on for captain Rodri for the final 21 minutes of the game just before Luis de la Fuente’s side broke the deadlock through Ferran Torres – assisted by Nico Williams – in the 106th minute.

With the victory, La Roja became the first team to complete the European Championship-World Cup double, having first achieved the feat in the South Africa 2010 edition with a 1-0 extra time victory over the Netherlands in Johannesburg.