Real Madrid ‘preparing for transfer ban’ with Paul Pogba signing

Reports in Spain suggest this summer could be as busy as 2009, when Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo joined.

Real and Atletico Madrid both face sanctions for the signing of under-18s from outside Spain and, if their appeals fail, a ban on signings in January 2017 and the following summer could be implemented.

Marca reports that with that in mind Madrid are looking at signing ‘quantity and quality’ this summer as they have to do the work of two summer transfer windows in one.

They draw a comparison with the summer of 2009, when Florentino Perez spent big on Kaka, Alonso and Ronaldo.

Paul Pogba’s name is floated as a signing that would bolster Madrid to a great enough extent that the 2017 summer ban wouldn’t be an issue, in the way Barcelona did with Luis Suarez in 2014 when they expected an imminent transfer ban.

Madrid are also carefully considering which players are allowed to leave, so as not to deplete Zinedine Zidane’s squad too much in the event of the two-window ban.