Yesterday at 18:30 EST (European-Standard Time), Real Madrid exercised the buy-back clause in Esteban Granero's contract. Granero was sold to Getafe last season with a buy-back clause, after his one-year loan stint at Getafe.

The buy-back clause would have expired on July 31, 2009.

A similar buy-back clause had been used by Real Madrid earlier this summer in the case of Alvaro Negredo.

This clause enables Real Madrid to buy their players back at prices cheaper than the market value. Negredo's market value was €15 million but Real bought him back for €5 million.

Granero's current market value is in the range of €10 million but Real Madrid have bought him back for €4 million, only €1 million more than the price at which they sold him.

Unlike Negredo, who has an option to either sign for another club or stay at Real Madrid, Granero has been bought to play in the first-team.

Granero is a very versatile player who plays in the center of midfield but can also play on both the wings. (If you want to know more about Granero, read "Why Real Madrid Should Bring Esteban Granero Back")

Manuel Pellegrini had also shown a lot of interest in Granero and there were reports that Real Madrid were looking at Granero as an option if they were unsuccessful in capturing Xabi Alonso.

The signing of Esteban Granero might come as a relief for Liverpool fans, but they should not be happy yet as it is not certain that Real Madrid have cooled their interest in Xabi Alonso.

Esteban Granero was set to leave for a tour of Germany with Getafe, but he will stay back and sign a contract at the Bernabeu, which states that Granero would be with Real Madrid for four years and will get €2.8 million in the first year and €3.2 million for the remaining years.

And in other Real Madrid news:

  • Javi Garcia has been sold to Benfica for €7 million.
  • Alberto Bueno and Cristopher Schorch of the Real Madrid Castilla have been sold to Valladolid and FC Koln respectively.
  • Olympique Marseille's president is in Madrid to negotiate for the signing of Gabriel Heinze.

 

Note: Deepak Israni wishes the best of luck to Javi Garcia, Alberto Bueno, and Cristopher Schorch, may they be succesful in their careers. Deepak also wishes that Heinze should leave as early as possible, so that he can wish the best of luck to Olympique Marseille—they would need it after signing Heinze.