Since he arrived in Girona, Miguel Gutierrez has had an impressive upward route. The former Real Madrid-Linksback was initially a rotation option before a movement of € 5 million made his stay permanent. Last year he was one of the revelations of the season, and this year he was a leader for the Catalan side in the Champions League, and most recently their battle for survival.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have been associated with Gutierrez in the past two seasons, but so far he has stayed in Montilivi. Their chances of holding on to Gutierrez, however, are increasingly slimmer this year, after a summer of speculation.
It was said that Atletico Madrid evaluated a deal for Gutierrez at the beginning of the month, but that was refused by relevant. They say that Atletico did inquire about Gutierrez, and he was on their left shortlist, but after he had asked for the prize, both parties decided that no deal could be reached.
Gutierrez, for whom Real Madrid retains a 50% clause, has a release clause of € 35 million, but may leave for around € 20 million. Los Blancos also has a first refusal for 48 hours, but despite much interest in Portugal, England, Italy and Germany, there have been no offers yet.
There is of course also the much -discussed return of € 9 million for Gutierrez, possessed by Real Madrid. In Germany, one of his Vrijers was Bayer Leverkusen, and with Xabi Alonso who possibly arrived in Real Madrid, it is still to be seen whether he will ask Los Blancos to perform that option. In any case, they have intensified their reconnaissance efforts with regard to Gutierrez, who likes to return to his boys' club.
In the White House, the name of Benfica left back Alvaro Carreras is also mentioned several times. Interesting is that he still seems to be on the agenda for Atletico, despite the fact that he probably has a much higher price. The performances of Carreras in the Champions League have certainly increased interest.