Real Madrid have extended defender Dani Carvajal’s contract by a further year until 2026.
The 32-year-old right-back’s deal had been due to expire in the summer of 2025.
Carvajal’s renewal comes one day after he suffered a likely season-ending knee ligament injury against Villarreal.
After undergoing assessments on Saturday, it was confirmed he had sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a ruptured external collateral ligament and a ruptured popliteal tendon.
Madrid expect him to be sidelined for at least eight months and will undergo surgery once the swelling on his knee has reduced.
“I only have words of thanks for Real Madrid and our president Florentino Perez,” Carvajal wrote on Instagram.
“On a day like today, we announced the continuity until 2026, it conveys what is the best club in the world in every way and how the successes we share fill us with happiness, but in the hard ones is when the soul is really shown.”
(Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
Carvajal had featured 11 times in all competitions this season, providing one goal and one assist and captaining the side when Luka Modric has been absent.
A product of the Madrid academy, he re-joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 and has won four La Liga titles and the Champions League on six occasions.
The Spain international made 41 appearances in all competitions last season as Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League, and he turned in a player of the match performance in the victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.
He then featured five times during Spain’s Euro 2024-winning campaign in the summer.
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Madrid show unconditional support for Carvajal with renewal
Real Madrid’s decision at the most critical moment of Daniel Carvajal’s career is even more symbolic than sporting. It is a show of unconditional support for such a key player.
The club and the player had already begun talks some time ago, with Carvajal agreeing to go year to year, as is the unwritten rule at Real Madrid with those over 30.
Aside from his sporting importance, he has consistently been among the most used players under Carlo Ancelotti in the three seasons since the Italian’s return, his hierarchical weight is very high too.
Currently second captain after the departures of Nacho Fernandez and Toni Kroos in the summer, he was considered a key player in maintaining a high degree of professionalism and competitiveness in the dressing room, serving as an example to the younger players.
(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
