Real Madrid eyeing move for Morocco's €70m wonderkid

This summer has already been a life-changing one for Moroccan wonderkid Ayoub Bouaddi, who has taken the world by storm, impressing against Brazil in his World Cup debut, recording 60 complete passes along with nine won duels and five interceptions, proving to be a hassle for A Seleção on both ends of the pitch.

For those who are regularly tuned in to Ligue 1 action were more than familiar with Bouaddi's game; this wasn't a surprise, given that the Moroccan international recorded 33 interceptions and 49 won tackles with Lille last season. But it's caught the eyes of fans and clubs around the world, with the team's interested in acquiring him spanning from the Premier League with Arsenal and Tottenham both being tied, to a new contender: Real Madrid.

Bouaddi to the Bernabeu?

As reported by Patrick Berger, the Madridistas are looking to add Bouaddi to their ensemble of offseason acquisitions, which is already stacked to begin with, as Jose Mourinho will be looking at Ibrahima Konate, Marc Cucurella, and Bernardo Silva to play with in the coming season.

Given the role that the Moroccan plays on the pitch, his potential arrival in Madrid could see the club finally find a replacement for Toni Kroos, who retired from the sport in 2024, leaving quite a pair of boots to fill in on the pitch. The likes of Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler, both of whom were there when the German star was still playing, have yet to really fill the tempo-setting role that Kroos had with Madrid.

It's this role that Bouaddi has been playing in during his national team's first two games in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the African giants taking four points from two games, following their triumph over Scotland on match day two.

Berger was quick to report that Lille would want a minimum of €70m for their star midfielder, which shouldn't be an issue for the La Liga giants, who have only spent €52 million up to this point in the offseason, with the aforementioned Cucurella being the most costly, with his fee standing at €55m.

Despite the interest from Los Blancos, as well as several other teams around the globe, Bouaddi has stated earlier in the month that the only thing he's focused on at the moment is the World Cup.

"I’m really happy to know that some clubs are interested in me, but for now I’m only focused on the World Cup, and we will try to give everything to do our best," stated Bouaddi after Morocco's World Cup opener against Brazil.

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