Napoli reach agreement for Real Madrid defender Rafa Marin

VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN - MAY 10: Rafa Marin of Deportivo Alaves looks on during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Deportivo Alaves and Girona FC at Estadio de Mendizorroza on May 10, 2024 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. (Photo by Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)
By Mario Cortegana
Jul 4, 2024

Napoli have reached an agreement with Real Madrid to sign defender Rafa Marin.

The Italian club will pay an initial fee of €11million to secure Marin’s services, with an option to pay an additional €10m during the 2024-2025 season to confirm Napoli’s long-term ownership of the player.

However, if Napoli choose not to exercise this option, Madrid will retain a buyback clause to re-sign Marin for €25m in 2025 and 2026, increasing to €35m in 2027.

Anzeige

In the event that Napoli opt to make the additional payment of €10m, Madrid would then be obligated to compensate Napoli with a  €50m fee if they wish to reclaim Marin in 2025 and 2026, or €60m in 2027. Marin has agreed a five-year contract with Napoli.

The 22-year-old is set to play under new head coach Antonio Conte, who has spoken to Carlo Ancelotti about the centre-back.

The completion of the deal is pending Marin’s successful medical examination, and should everything go according to plan, he will play in Italy next season.

Marin began his career at Alcolea, before moving on to play for Centro Historico and Sevilla at youth level.

He then joined Madrid in 2016 to initially be part of their youth team but has yet to make an appearance for the senior side, having spent last season on loan at Alaves where he made 35 appearances across all competitions.

(Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)

 

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Mario Cortegana

Mario Cortegana Santos is a Football Writer for The Athletic covering Real Madrid. He has followed Los Blancos since 2019 at Diario AS, Goal.com and MARCA. He usually appears on Gol TV and is a main collaborator in the YouTube show The Four Amigos Podcast. He has covered the EURO 2020 and Qatar 2022. Follow Mario on Twitter @MarioCortegana