Napoli and Real Madrid are on the cusp of agreeing upon the final details of Rafa Marin’s switch to the Diego Maradona Stadium. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the last hurdle concerns a complex buy-back clause.
As reported on Tuesday, Napoli and Real Madrid had come inches from shaking hands on the agreement. New Partenopei boss Antonio Conte has explicitly requested Marin’s arrival after taking charge of the beleaguered Naples outfit.
It took Napoli a while to find common ground with Los Merengues. But when the parties reached a €10 million threshold in negotiations, it became evident the 22-year-old would continue his career in Serie A. Yet, it proved only half of the story.
Despite sanctioning Marin’s move to Napoli with relative comfort, the Spaniards have always insisted on a buy-back clause. The Italians had been hesitant at first. However, after being informed it was a deal-breaker, they’ve softened their stance.
Though they’ve got their way, Real Madrid cannot trigger the repurchase option before 2026, when they’ll need to fork out €25m to bring Marin back from Napoli, rising to €35m in June 2027.
Napoli bigwig Aurelio De Laurentiis showed his iconic negotiating skills to include a ‘special’ clause, allowing the Italians to bump up the buy-back clause. It basically means they can pour an additional €10m into Los Blancos’ coffers next summer, forcing them to pay €50m to re-sign Marin in 2026 or an eye-watering €70m in 2027.
Once they close this operation, Napoli could turn to Mats Hummels, who’s available on a free transfer after running down his contract at Borussia Dortmund.
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