Miguel Gutiérrez stopped his departure in January, due to his desire to play for Real Madrid. As reported by Relevo, the full-back had interest from Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Tottenham and turned down a formal offer from an unnamed Premier League club to stay at Girona, as he hopes to play for Los Blancos next season.
This Saturday, league leaders Girona take on second-place Real Madrid in an important match for both teams, but especially for Gutiérrez, who returns to his home. In the Merengues, the 22-year-old is still considered as ‘one of their own’ and the player is also proud of the way he developed in the capital through the club’s youth system.
The defender has had a fantastic season with the Catalan team, scoring one goal and notching five assists. The peak of his season came against Barça at Montjuïc where he capped a fine performance with an even better goal.
The Spaniard attracted interest from various elite clubs and during the winter transfer window he also received a formal offer from the Premier League, which he decided to decline. Miguel wanted to remain at the La Liga leaders due to his commitment to Girona in what could be a historic year for the club, as well as his desire to return to the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid’s buy back clause
Madrid sold 50% of the player’s rights to Girona for €5m and therefore have the option to buy him back for €8m next summer. However, in the last transfer window the clause was €35m for any club, who were interested in purchasing the player.
If any team activated Miguel’s clause in the winter, Madrid president Florentino Pérez would have to pay €17m to get the player back and this was a situation the club wanted to avoid at all cost. The Spanish giants have kept a close eye on the situation and were informed at all times on the player’s movements.
Gutiérrez was aware that his chances of returning to the whites would be much greater in the summer compared to the January transfer window and this definitely contributed to his decision to reject the offer from the Premier League. Despite this, there is still an element of uncertainty surrounding this transfer and this is mainly due to Madrid making progress in their pursuit of priority target Alphonso Davies, who also operates at left-back.
Rajan Sangha | GSFN
