Real Madrid defender pens new deal with €100m release clause

Real Madrid have struggled with injuries at the back this season, and while that has led to a number of difficulties in games for Carlo Ancelotti, the emergence of Raul Asencio has been one positive to come out of it.

The 22-year-old was originally not even Carlo Ancelotti’s first choice to be promoted from the Castilla side, with 17-year-old Joan Martinez and Jacobo Ramon originally ahead of him in the pecking order. As with the first team though, injuries cleared the way for him to have his shot in the first team, and solid from the off, Asencio took that chance with both hands.

The idea of going through the last two months without Asencio’s aggression and security does not bear thinking of for Madridistas, with Asencio now racking up 29 appearances in total, despite not making his debut until November. Although David Alaba is now back and fully fit following his 13-month recovery from a knee injury, based on form at the very least, Asencio will see out the season alongside Antonio Rudiger as the first choice in front of Thibaut Courtois.

Asencio will be around for a while – multiple reports claim that Los Blancos have reached an agreement to extend his contract by five years, until 2029, doubling his release clause to €100m. While Real Madrid have a clause in his contract to extend it by five years that they could trigger automatically, figures from Marca claim that Asencio will also receive a €6.2m salary from next year, a figure that will rise year on year to €9m per annum by the end of his contract.

Meanwhile there is plenty of speculation over the future of Real Madrid’s backline. Asencio earned his first call up for Spain earlier this month, but did not feature due to form of Dean Huijsen, who came on for the injured Pau Cubarsi and then started against the Netherlands. Los Blancos are seemingly in the race to sign the €60m defender too.