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Real Madrid Yet To Contact 21-Goal Striker With Bargain Release Clause
Ante Budimir scored 21 goals in La Liga this season.
While Real Madrid is busy in action at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, the club continues to prepare for the 2025/26 campaign under new coach Xabi Alonso, and one of the additions that the sporting management could look to make to the roster looks likely to be in attack.
Earlier this summer, El Chiringuito claimed that Osasuna forward Ante Budimir is one of five options being considered by Real Madrid, who are looking to add strength in depth in the final third. The departure of veteran Joselu meant that superstar Kylian Mbappé was virtually the only natural center-forward in the squad during his debut season.
Budimir is thought to appeal, in part due to a low-cost release clause which is available for part of the summer transfer window, but Los Blancos have not consolidated their interest as of yet. 'There have been questions about Budimir, obviously,' the club's sporting director Braulio Vázquez told Cadena SER, 'but Real Madrid has not called'.
What is Ante Budimir's release clause?
According to the report from Cadena SER, Budimir's usual release clause of €20 million ($23.3 million) is reduced to only €8 million ($9.32 million) for European-based clubs during a part of the summer transfer window.
At 33 years of age, Budimir is not a young target who would offer much resale value, but he does have a proven track record in Spain, with 78 goals in 204 games for Mallorca and Osasuna since moving to the Iberian peninsula from Italian side Crotone in early 2019.
The Croatian made his debut for his national team a year after moving to Spain, in 2020, and has scored six goals in 32 appearances alongside his international side's captain, Real Madrid legend Luka Modrić.
In 2024/25, only Kylian Mbappé and Robert Lewandowski, of FC Barcelona, scored more goals than Budimir, who recorded 21 goals in La Liga, 10 fewer than Mbappé and six fewer than Lewandowski.
He was also ever-present for Osasuna, who narrowly missed out on qualification for European competition, as he played a part in all 38 league matches, starting 34 of them.
Real Madrid's plans may have been altered somewhat by the selection choices of new coach Xabi Alonso, who has opted to give ample game time to 21-year-old attacked Gonzalo García as a striker in his first two matches.
Alonso started him in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, who has suffered with illness while in the United States, and rewarded the youngster for his goal against Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal by keeping his place against Mexican side Pachuca.
'He's a striker who can be a reference point,' Alonso said as he reflected on García, who may provide a homegrown solution to the lack of options available to the new coach in his squad.
García made only four first-team appearances before the Club World Cup this season, scoring a late winner against Leganés in the Copa del Rey, but did score an impressive return of 25 goals in 36 games while playing for Raúl González's Castilla side, Real Madrid's second string, in the third tier of Spanish soccer, Primera RFEF.
