‘Real Madrid adjusting to different transfer market’ – Coronavirus pandemic has hit everyone hard, says Butragueno

Real Madrid may be one of the richest clubs on the planet but even they are having to “adapt” their plans for a different kind of transfer market, says Emilio Butragueno, with the Covid-19 outbreak hitting sporting institutions hard.

The Blancos boast some of the deepest pockets in world football and have never been afraid of splashing out on the best talent available on the open market.

Ambition may, however, have to be reined in at Santiago Bernabeu in 2020 because the coronavirus pandemic has blocked off important revenue paths and prevented clubs from bringing in much-needed funds.

Real continue to be linked with a number of players ahead of the next window, with it possible that they will still look to bolster their ranks, but careful consideration will be given to any offers.

Butragueno, the club’s director of public relations, said at the World Football Summit: “I think the football industry has to adjust to this new situation with ongoing uncertainty about when a vaccine will be discovered. In the meantime we need to be both creative and be flexible enough to adapt ourselves to the new situations.

“I think it's really important to understand that this is not a football crisis, this is a global crisis and football is part of the world and part of an economy which is struggling.

“This situation of course is going to condition the transfer market and there are question marks about the future. Having said that, we don't know yet exactly what is going to happen, but we can foresee that the situation is going to be different compared to other summers."

While admitting to Real facing many challenges in the immediate future, Butragueno considers the Liga leaders to be on a sound financial footing and in a positive position to build from this point.

He added: “Real Madrid are 118 years old so the club has gone through some difficult times in the past such as a civil war in the 1930s, the post-war period had an impact in Spain as well as a series of economic crises.

“When Florentino Perez was elected as president he laid solid financial foundations and thanks to this solid sporting and economic strategy it has helped us to overcome what was really a difficult period.”