Dani Ceballos, the midfielder who once arrived at Real Madrid as one of Spain’s most promising young talents, is now negotiating the terms of his exit. The club and the 29-year-old are in active discussions to mutually terminate a contract that still has two full years remaining.

From prospect to peripheral figure

Ceballos joined Real Madrid in July 2017 for around €18 million, arriving from Real Betis. The early years were a mixed bag. He spent two seasons on loan at Arsenal, flashing moments of brilliance in north London without ever fully convincing anyone he was indispensable.

The club handed him a contract extension on June 23, 2023, pushing his deal through the end of the 2026-27 season. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Ceballos has struggled to earn consistent minutes with the first team. The current coaching staff has made it clear, through selection rather than press conference, that the midfielder sits outside their core plans.

Tensions within the squad have played a role in accelerating Ceballos’s departure timeline. A player who isn’t playing, collecting significant wages, and reportedly clashing behind the scenes is a player whose exit becomes a matter of when, not if.

The numbers behind the negotiation

Ceballos has approximately €20.84 million gross remaining on his contract over its final two years. Mutual termination in football rarely means one side simply walks away empty-handed. These negotiations typically involve some form of settlement payment, where the club pays a portion of the remaining salary in exchange for the player agreeing to tear up the deal. The exact figure Ceballos and Madrid are working toward hasn’t been disclosed.

Neither side has made an official announcement regarding the termination as of mid-June 2026.

A career that deserves more than a footnote

Over his time at the club, Ceballos racked up more than 120 first-team appearances and collected 11 major trophies. The problem was never talent. It was always about fitting into a midfield that, at various points, included Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham, and Aurelien Tchouameni.

The two loan spells at Arsenal between 2019 and 2021 were supposed to be the proving ground. Ceballos showed enough quality in the Premier League to suggest he could thrive as a regular starter somewhere, but Madrid kept pulling him back into a supporting role.