Real Madrid beat Barcelona and Saudi offers to land a golden deal

Real Madrid have agreed a deal to sign Racing Santander midfielder Sergio Martínez Montero on a contract running until 2030, according to Spanish newspaper "AS" today, Saturday.

Martínez will initially join Real Madrid Castilla, the paper reports, with the possibility of taking part in first-team training. The move hands him a chance to develop under the eyes of the club's coaching staff, led by José Mourinho.

He had begun featuring for Racing's first team in the latter part of last season, playing 10 matches in the Spanish second division.

According to the newspaper, the lure of Real Madrid and the prospect of breaking into the first team proved decisive in the midfielder's decision.

Marca revealed that in recent days, Racing and the player fielded a string of calls from clubs hoping to change his destination. Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal were among them, along with sides from the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the Saudi League.

None of it shifted Martinez. He held firm on his decision to wear the Real Madrid shirt, turning his back on every other offer on the table.

Crucially, Real Madrid chose not to trigger the 3 million euro release clause in the player's contract. They pushed instead for an agreement with Racing, wary of stirring up tension in negotiations and keen to protect the relationship for the future.

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