Pay an extra 5 million! TA: Arsenal are in direct talks to sign Zubimendi, while Real Madrid denies any intention of making a bid
2025-07-06
Live Football 7th July - Arsenal officially announced the signing of 26-year-old Spanish international midfielder Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. The two sides have signed a five-year contract with a transfer fee of 65 million euros, which is 5 million euros more than the player's contract release clause. Arsenal can pay in installments. The Athletic spoke with people familiar with the details of the deal, recounting the process of the transfer being concluded.
Zubimendi met with Arsenal officials in London in mid-June and completed the transfer procedures. There was no player's regret in this transfer. Zubimendi is determined to come to the Premier League. A long time ago, he had already committed to Arteta and Arsenal.
In the summer of 2024, in order to strengthen the midfield, Edu, then the sports director of Arsenal, held talks with two midfielders of Real Sociedad: Merino and Zubimendi. Real Sociedad has accepted the fact that it will be very difficult to keep Merino, as he is about to enter the final year of his contract and has already refused to renew it. At the end of August, Arsenal reached a transfer agreement with Merino, but Real Sociedad did not want to accept the situation of losing both Merino and Zubimendi at the same time.
Zubimendi's contract has a release clause of 60 million euros, which means that if Liverpool had paid this sum at that time, the player could have left immediately. Liverpool was also prepared to do so and once believed that they had already received the player's commitment, and even just needed to wait for the player to board the private plane bound for the northwest of England. But Zubimendi did not do so. He was persuaded to stay in Royal Society.
Although it was widely believed that staying with the team might lead to a more lucrative new contract, the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Neither salary was offered nor the release clause was increased. All of this was based on Zubimendi's commitment to Real Sociedad, to this region and this project. When he rejected Liverpool's offer, he had already learned of Arsenal's interest.
According to the club, as Jorginho and Thomas' contracts enter their final year, Zubimendi has become the top choice for Arsenal's midfield recruitment. He is regarded as a world-class No. 6 player who can seamlessly connect. To avoid repeating Liverpool's mistakes, Arsenal voluntarily proposed to trigger the release clause, but was resisted by Real Sociedad. Given the deep emotional bond between Zubimendi and his former club, Arsenal believes that the deal can only be realized with the consent of Real Sociedad.
So Arsenal decided to complete the transfer through direct negotiations rather than triggering the release clause. The negotiations began last summer and continued in the winter. Arsenal has established a good relationship with Real Sociedad through players such as Monreal, Tierney and Merino. Edu handed over his work to interim sports director Eto to complete the transfer. It is said that during the negotiations, Arteta and Zubimendi also quickly established a strong connection. In addition, Zubimendi's close relationship with Merino also prompted him to decide to join Arsenal. In early 2025, officials from the Royal Society traveled to London to finalize the agreement. In April, Berta took office and the deal was basically completed.
Although Arsenal privately believes that Zubimendi's deal has been finalized, the Spanish media has staged a public soap opera, with the player constantly being linked with a move to Real Madrid. Arsenal does indeed believe that Real Madrid is interested in Zubimendi, but the Real Madrid side has always denied any intention of making a bid because they have long known that the player will join Arsenal. A Real Madrid source said that such transfer rumors are like huge lies like castles.