Liverpool moved quickly to sign Victor Munoz for €40 million after he triggered his release clause with Osasuna. Real Madrid had an €8 million buyback option this summer, but academy figures say the club decided against bringing him back—leaving both fans and
Liverpool confirmed the signing of Osasuna and Spain winger Victor Munoz on Thursday, after he met his €40 million release clause and beat Newcastle to his signature.
But the story doesn’t start with Liverpool.
This summer, Real Madrid could have secured Munoz for €8 million instead. That number—€8 million, roughly £6.9 million and $9.2 million—is what matters because it was available. Yet Madrid chose not to act.
Within the Spanish club. especially among those connected to the academy where Munoz was trained. the decision has been met with mixed feelings. There’s surprise at Madrid declining to give an academy graduate. now at the World Cup with Luis de la Fuente’s Spain side. a chance to show what he could do at the Bernabéu.
Munoz himself shared that uncertainty.
The route Madrid took with him last year makes the current choice harder to ignore. Munoz is a graduate of Madrid’s La Fabrica youth academy. The club sold him to Osasuna last July in a €5 million deal—plus a further €1 million with potential add-ons. almost all of which were triggered. That agreement also included several buyback options valid over the first three seasons of the five-year contract he signed.
The first of those options stood at €8 million this summer.
Madrid’s reasoning now sits beside what Munoz looked like when he left. Before his move. he had played just 47 first-team minutes across four appearances for Madrid. including a debut as an 88th-minute substitute in a 4-3 La Liga defeat at Barcelona in May 2025. In that game, Munoz had a chance to equalise—he fired over the bar.
The miss stayed with him in Madrid. After criticism from the club’s fanbase, he closed the comments section on his Instagram account for a long period.
Then came the turnaround that changed the conversation. Over the 2025-26 season with Osasuna. Munoz’s progress was described as dazzling: he emerged as one of the breakout stars in Spain’s top flight. He made his international debut in March and drew interest from Barcelona. where he spent three years as a youth player from 2014 to 2017.
That Barcelona interest eventually faded, and the timing mattered. Madrid’s academy ties, and Munoz’s own background—he was born and grew up there before arriving at Real Madrid in 2021, just before turning 18—added extra pressure to the question of where he might end up.
There was a practical problem for Barcelona, too. Madrid would not have been happy for Munoz to land at their direct rivals. even if the player’s story could have made it plausible. In theory. if Barcelona had indicated an intention to trigger Munoz’s release clause. Madrid would have been able to step in and activate their own option instead. Another condition of his sale to Osasuna last year gave Madrid the right of first refusal.
Still, there were voices inside Madrid who were in favour of bringing him back. The idea of returning a La Fabrica graduate, and bringing back a Spanish player, carried appeal. Those same voices valued his pure winger skill set—something viewed as not particularly well represented in the squad at the time.
When some reports in Spain suggested it would happen, the response from all parties to The Athletic was that no final decision had been made and, consequently, no formal communication had taken place.
Even with momentum building, Munoz’s own doubts mattered. Sources close to the player said reservations existed about returning to Madrid. aware of how difficult it is for academy players to break into and progress in the first team. They pointed to what was presented as a more stable path to the top at Barcelona than at Madrid.
Madrid. meanwhile. were not expected to want him at Barcelona—yet they also did not see him as a priority after Jose Mourinho’s appointment as manager. Internal discussions over squad strengths and recruitment for next season led to the conclusion that bringing Munoz back wasn’t central to their planning.
Barca were not the only interested party once his stock rose. Premier League clubs began to appear, and that became part of why his eventual destination looked increasingly likely outside Spain.
Money also moved through the decision. Madrid’s deal with Osasuna included a 50 per cent sell-on clause. That meant Madrid would earn €20 million if Munoz’s release clause was met.
Madrid’s board believes receiving a total of around €26 million—through the combination of the €5 million sale with add-ons in 2025 and the €20 million sell-on—was good business for a player who had made just four first-team appearances.
This wasn’t just about one outgoing transfer; it was also about where Munoz would fit. He can play on either wing. and his versatility was admired. but both flanks were seen as covered by Vinicius Junior. Rodrygo once he returns from injury. Brahim Diaz. Franco Mastantuono (whom Mourinho likes) and Endrick.
Mourinho has wanted to try Endrick on the wing—where he has at times featured for Lyon on loan during the second half of this past season—as well as in the No 9 role. The versatile Bernardo Silva, who has just arrived, is also another option out wide.
As other transfer priorities came into focus, Madrid moved elsewhere. They closed agreements with Ibrahima Konate and Silva, both on free transfers. They struck a €60 million deal for Marc Cucurella and are ready to spend €20 million on Inter right-back Denzel Dumfries.
Madrid and Mourinho still want another centre-back and one more creative midfielder. For that reason, sales such as Munoz’s were required.
Even so, the academy’s uneasy mood remains. While the board celebrates the business outcome, some coaches and staff believe it sends a disappointing message to younger players: that even when you do very well, making it into Madrid’s first team is essentially impossible.
That tension—between what the club calls good business and what the academy experiences as a closed door—is now part of the same story that ends with Liverpool signing a player Madrid once had the chance to call back for €8 million.
Victor Munoz Real Madrid Osasuna Liverpool buyback option €8 million €40 million release clause La Fabrica Luis de la Fuente Jose Mourinho