Where are they now? Real Madrid’s 7 transfer targets from 2021 according to Marca

Most players have their heads turned by Real Madrid, but what happened to the club’s seven transfer targets from the summer of 2021?

The Spanish giants are often linked with the biggest names in the world and that was certainly the case throughout 2021.

Using a report by Spanish outlet Marca from that time, here are the seven players Real Madrid considered signing in 2021 and where all of those players are today.

David Alaba

With his contract at Bayern Munich set to come to an end, plenty of top European clubs were sniffing around the Austrian defender back in 2021.

Real Madrid ultimately fended off the competition and signed him as a free agent on a five-year contract. To this day, he’s still playing at the Santiago Bernabeu on that original contract.

The 32-year-old has been out of action since last December with an ACL injury but is expected to make his return in the coming weeks.

Kylian Mbappe

For the last five consecutive summers, Mbappe has always been linked with a move to Real Madrid at one stage or another.

Indeed, the Spanish giants did try and lure the Frenchman to Madrid in 2021, but they saw their £137million bid rejected by PSG at the time.

“We consider the offer as being very far from what Kylian is worth today,” PSG sporting director Leonardo told RMC Sport in 2021.

In the end, Real Madrid were forced to play the long game but they did land their target eventually. After years of rumours, Mbappe joined Real Madrid on a free transfer in the last summer window.

While he’s taken some time to find his feet, he’s ended 2024 in good form, having produced six goal contributions in his last seven matches.

READ NEXT: Comparing Kylian Mbappe’s record now to Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 26

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every British player to play for Real Madrid since 1990?

Erling Haaland

Haaland was another option under consideration by Real Madrid bosses at the time, although he ended up joining Manchester City instead.

Having scored 109 goals in 124 appearances since joining City, Real Madrid have still been keeping tabs on the Norwegian star in recent windows according to reports in Spain.

His current deal at the Etihad is valid until 2027, although the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid will no doubt be keeping a close eye on him.

Eduardo Camavinga

Real Madrid had been sniffing around Camavinga for quite some time before they made the deal official during the summer of 2021.

Having signed the Frenchman for just £34.4million, it’s safe to say that Madrid got the better end of their deal with Rennes.

The midfielder has gone on to make 157 appearances for the club and he’s won 11 trophies over the last three and a half years. Still just 22 years old, he’s likely got the best years of his career ahead of him yet.

Boubacar Kamara

Another Frenchman being watched by Real Madrid in 2021 was Kamara who had been doing well for Marseille at the time.

However, the club opted to sign Camavinga instead which ultimately turned out to be the correct decision.

Kamara eventually left Marseille in 2022 upon his contract expiring to join Aston Villa as a free agent.

While the 25-year-old has made a positive impact since arriving at Villa Park, he has missed over 50 games through injury since signing for them.

Mohamed Salah

Salah was coming off the back of another prolific campaign in 2020-21 as he scored 31 goals for Liverpool across all competitions, along with providing a handful of assists too.

With Real Madrid looking to rebuild their forward line at the time, Salah was someone who was being consistently linked with a move to the Bernabeu around that time.

Liverpool fans will be thankful that nothing ever came of Real Madrid’s interest, although with his current contract set to expire in the summer, who knows what the future holds for the Egyptian King.

READ: Comparing Mohamed Salah’s insane 2024-25 stats to Vini Jr’s ‘Ballon d’Or’ numbers of 2023-24

Angelino

With Marcelo on his last legs at Real Madrid in 2021, the club were sniffing around Angelino who was doing well for RB Leipzig at the time.

However, instead of going for the Spanish full-back, the club put their faith in Ferland Mendy as they believed he was Marcelo’s natural successor.

Angelino has since had spells with Hoffenheim and Galatasaray and now plays for Roma as their first-choice left-wing-back.