Pay 5 million more! TA: Arsenal negotiates to sign Zubimendi, Real Madrid denies intention to bid

Arsenal officially announced the signing of 26-year-old Spanish international midfielder Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. The two sides signed a contract for 5 years, with a transfer fee of 65 million euros, which is 5 million more than the termination fee of the player's contract, and Arsenal can pay in installments. The Athletic talked with people who knew the details of the deal and talked about the process of reaching the transfer.

Zubimedi met with Arsenal officials in London in mid-June this year and completed the transfer procedures. There was no player repentance in this transfer. Zubimendi firmly wanted to come to the Premier League. He had promised Arteta and Arsenal a long time ago.

In the summer of 2024, in order to strengthen the midfield strength, then Arsenal sports director Edu negotiated with two Real Sociedad midfielders: Merino and Zubimendi. Real Sociedad accepts the fact that it is difficult to keep Merino because he is about to enter his contract year and has refused to renew his contract. At the end of August, Arsenal reached a transfer agreement with Merino, but Real Sociedad did not want to accept the loss of Merino and Zubimendi at the same time.

Zubimedi's contract has a 60 million euro termination clause, which means that if Liverpool paid the money at that time, the player could leave the team immediately. Liverpool was also ready to do so, and once thought that he had received the promise from the players and just waited for the players to board the plane to northwest England. But Zubimendi did not do so, and he was persuaded to stay at Real Sociedad.

Although it is generally believed that Zubimendi stays at the team and may receive a richer new contract, the two sides have not reached an agreement, neither providing salary nor increasing the termination fee, all of which is in Zubimendi's commitment to Real Sociedad, to the region and the project. When he rejected Liverpool's offer, he also learned about Arsenal's interest.

According to Arsenal, as Jorginho and Thomas' contract entered its final year, Zubimendi became their first choice for midfield signings, and players are regarded as being able to integrate into the team's world-class No. 6 position immediately. In order to avoid repeating Liverpool's mistakes, Arsenal took the initiative to trigger the termination clause, but was boycotted by Real Sociedad. Considering the deep emotional bond between Zubimendi and her parent team, Arsenal believes that the deal can only be achieved with the consent of Real Sociedad.

So Arsenal decided to complete the transfer through front-line negotiations rather than triggering the termination fee. Negotiations began last summer and continued in the winter. Arsenal has established a good relationship with Real Sociedad through deals with players such as Monreal, Tierney and Merino, and the transfer was later completed by Eto, who took over as Edu Sports director.

It is said that during the negotiations, Arteta and Zubimendi also quickly established a strong relationship. In addition, Zubimendi's close relationship with Merino also prompted him to decide to join Arsenal. In early 2025, Real Sociedad officials went to London to finalize the agreement. In April, the new sports director Berta took office and the transaction was basically completed.

Although Arsenal privately believes that Zubimendi's deal has been finalized, the Spanish media has staged an open soap opera before that, and players are constantly associated with the transfer to Real Madrid. Arsenal does believe that Real Madrid is interested in Zubi Mendi, but Real Madrid has always denied its intention to bid because they already knew that the players would join Arsenal. A Real Madrid source said such a transfer rumor is as huge as a castle lie.