Real Madrid announced the signing of Alvaro Carreras from SL Benfica on Monday, with the left-back returning to the club he left five years ago.The 22-year-old has signed a six-year contract with the

But listen to the way Xabi Alonso spoke about Alex Grimaldo throughout Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible title-winning season — when he provided 10 goals and 13 assists in the Bundesliga from his high-flying wing-back role — and it would be fair to assume that the Spaniard was top of the class.

Manchester United will pocket a significant bonus after Real Madrid completed the long-awaited €50 million (£42m/$57m) signing of Alvaro Carreras.

Carreras is now a footballer for Real Madrid. The white club has just announced his signing, thus putting an end to one of the summer's soap operas in the transfer market.The 22-year-old

The left-back originally represented Madrid's academy before joining Manchester United as a youth-team player.

The Spaniard is a liability defensively, though, and has struggled against top opponents in Europe. The most recent example came when Real Madrid played PSG in the Club World Cup semifinals, and he was outclassed by Achraf Hakimi and Désiré Doué.

Real Madrid are focusing on exits after completing the signing of Alvaro Carreras earlier this week, and there are several candidates that could depart before the end of the summer transfer