Will he even play against Real Madrid in future? Dani Carvajal on the verge of a surprise move

Since his contract at Real Madrid expired, Dani Carvajal has been without a club. That could change in the near future.

According to Marca, the Real Madrid icon is close to a move to Getafe, who are pushing hard to strike a deal for the Spanish European Championship winner. The talks are already said to be at an advanced stage.

Before Carvajal can sign for Real's league rivals, though, Spain's La Liga financial control body still has to give the green light over the wage structure of the team in 11th place, with Getafe's salary cap significantly lower than Real's.

More recently, Calciomercato reported that Carvajal was also a candidate for AC Milan after the bitter and long-term absences of Alexis Saelemaekers and Pervis Estupinan. However, the Rossoneri are also said to have Raphael Guerreiro on their list, with his contract at Bayern Munich having expired on 30 June and him therefore also being without a club.

Dani Carvajal becomes a Real Madrid legend, and an unlucky one

For more than two decades, Carvajal turned out for his beloved club Real Madrid and made 451 competitive appearances for the senior side in that time, scoring 14 goals and providing 66 assists. He even spent one season in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen before Real triggered a buy-back clause and brought him back. Carvajal then won the Champions League six times, the Spanish title four times and the Copa del Rey twice, among other honours, with Los Blancos.

Yet after winning the European Championship in Germany in 2024, Carvajal's injury misfortune did not ease. A serious cruciate ligament injury in October after the Euros was followed by further setbacks time and again. Last season he missed 18 competitive matches for Real, and shortly before the end of the campaign he also suffered a hairline fracture in his foot. That was also why he was no longer called up to the World Cup squad.

Now, though, the 34-year-old veteran is back in the spotlight. If Carvajal really does sign for Getafe, a reunion with Real would loom around the turn of the year. Next weekend, the Madrid club travel to still-unbeaten Barcelona. That match too would certainly hold a certain appeal for Carvajal.